


Missing Pieces

by ElectronicYarn



Series: Missing Pieces [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant Through Volume 3, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Sexual Content, Teen and Up Rated Version Posted to FanFiction.net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-05-31 19:13:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 41,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6484129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectronicYarn/pseuds/ElectronicYarn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The monster in the mask stole a piece of Yang’s body. Blake stole a piece of Yang’s heart. They both stole a piece of her soul.</p><p>Months after the battle at Beacon Academy, Yang must stitch back together the shattered fragments of her life one tiny piece at a time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written before RWBY Volume 4 came out. I’m certain things will go very differently in the actual show, but I wanted to do my own take on how Yang would deal with what happened to her at the end of Volume 3.
> 
> This is the Mature version of the story. The Teen and Up version has been posted on FanFiction.net under the same title and username.

Bleak winter snow covered the fallen leaves outside of Yang’s bedroom window. The harsh cold of the season had washed away the vibrant colors of autumn. The beautiful foliage of Patch Island was gone, replaced by skeletal husks of trees and endless fields of dreary white.

Yang watched the dead world outside listlessly from her bed. She wished the winter would last forever, but she knew that a spark of life still lay dormant beneath the snow. Time would move inextricably forward for the rest of the world. The seasons would turn, and spring would come. The color would return, and she would be the only thing left that was cold and dead.

The battle for Beacon had reached its grisly conclusion months ago, but for Yang, it might as well have been yesterday. All it took was the slightest reminder, the slightest tickle of memory, and she was back in the ruined remains of the school’s dining hall. She could feel the heat of the flames. She could hear Blake’s cries of pain singeing her ears. And most of all, she could see that monster standing over her partner, plunging his sword into her chest.

Many words had been used to describe Yang over the years: strong, confident, cocky, brash. Right now, however, the only word that Yang really felt described her was useless. All the students and teachers of Beacon had fought bravely to protect the innocent people of Vale. Some of them had even given their lives. And Yang had been absolutely useless.

During Yang’s time at Signal and Beacon Academies, her instructors had often chastised her for being too reckless when she fought. She’d always dismissed their critiques. She’d told herself that they just didn’t understand what it was like to have a semblance like hers. She’d always known her up-close and personal fighting style would earn her more than her fair share of scars, but she’d also known that she would always win in the end. She was Yang Xiao Long after all.

That’s why the very second Yang had seen Blake in mortal danger, the only thought in her head had been the overriding need to destroy the monster that dared to threaten her partner. She hadn’t hesitated, and she hadn’t contemplated the possibility she could fail. She just charged in to do what she did best, knowing that there was nothing the monster could do to her that wouldn’t make her stronger.

Oh how wrong Yang had been. In one terrible moment, that monster had shown her that she was not invincible. One single strike from his sword had effortlessly gone through her aura, overwhelmed her semblance, and carved through her body.

Yang had relived that instant in time over and over and over again. It defined her whole world now. Every single day she felt the sword bite her flesh. She saw the metal cleave her bones.

The first few week after Yang had been back on Patch, she’d spent time thinking, trying to figure out where her mistake had been. However, the more and more she thought about it, the more she realized there hadn’t been a mistake. There had never been any choice for her but to do all she could to save Blake.

Yang’s first night at Beacon was also the first time she’d met Blake. She’d had no idea that Blake would soon be her partner. She’d had even less idea that Blake would quickly become not only her friend but her best friend. She couldn’t say why she and Blake had bonded so quickly, but it was undeniable that they had. Unlike Ruby and Weiss, Yang and Blake had come to understand each other from the moment they had locked eyes in the Emerald Forest. They’d fought side-by-side like they’d been doing it for years. They’d hung out like they were old friends. They just worked together without having to work at it.

It had taken Yang by surprise, but one day she’d realized that she was developing romantic feelings for Blake. Yang wasn’t sure what to do at first. It wasn’t because she was inexperienced in the ways of romance. To the contrary, she’d had a steady stream of boyfriends and girlfriends over the years. But those relationships had all been over quickly, enjoyable though they were. That wasn’t what she wanted to have with Blake. Blake meant too much to her to just be another fling.

Yang liked to think she knew Blake better than almost anyone. After all, she knew which eye roll meant, “That pun was funny, but I don’t want to admit it,” and which meant, “I really wish you would stop talking now.” However, she’d never been able to decipher if Blake would have any interest in dating her or not. Yang understood that not everyone was a flexible as her when it came to physical attraction, and she had learned the hard way how simply asking a friend out could have disastrous consequences.

Despite her better judgment, Yang had almost confessed her feelings to Blake during their heart-to-heart just before the school dance that Team RWBY had put on. She had only held back because she hadn’t wanted to put any more emotional pressure on Blake. Later at the dance itself, she had spent an embarrassing amount of time watching Blake and Sun together. Blake had always emphatically insisted that Sun wasn’t her boyfriend, but Yang wasn’t so sure seeing the two of them together. It had made her happy to see Blake being sociable, but her jealousy had been so palpable, she’d practically had to physically pummel it into submission.

Ultimately, Yang had decided that Blake’s friendship was more important to her and had just written off her feelings as a silly crush that would fade with time. But her feelings hadn’t faded. And when she’d seen Blake helpless on the ground, the emotions that had rushed through her had been so intense that she couldn’t deny the truth. Somewhere along the way she had fallen in love with Blake. In that moment, Yang would have sacrificed anything to save Blake. And she had saved her. It had cost her an arm, but she had saved Blake.

And then Blake had abandoned her.

Yang hadn’t believed it at first. When Sun had tried to explain to Yang that Blake had run, she had said some downright nasty things to him. Even as she was being helped into the airship returning to Patch, she’d expected Blake to show up. But Blake hadn’t come. She really had run. And she had hurt Yang worse than any monster with any sword ever could have.

Yang wondered if Blake knew what she had sacrificed for her. Ruby had always wanted to become a huntress to make the world a better place. It was one of the many things Yang adored about her baby sister. Yang wasn’t so noble however. She wanted to become a huntress so she could fight, plain and simple.

Every huntsman- and huntress-to-be was good at fighting. A lot of them enjoyed it too. Yang didn’t like fighting; she loved it. It was more exciting than riding her motorcycle dangerously fast. It was more exhilarating than sex. It made her feel more alive than anything else in all of Remnant. It was her life, and now her life was over. Her dad had given her many a pep talk about how there were plenty of things she could still do, but Yang knew he was wrong. Fighting was what she’d been born for.

Maybe it would all have been worth it to save Blake. But Blake had run away. She had spit in the face of Yang’s sacrifice. She hadn’t even had the guts to say goodbye.

Yang closed her eyes. Thinking about Blake wouldn’t help things. On a good day, she could slip into a mental oblivion and lay there numbly as the hours drifted by. But it seemed that today was not going to be a good day. Visions of Blake leaving her behind while she was bleeding and unconscious taunted her. Phantom pains from her missing arm made it impossible to forget what she’d lost.

Resigned, Yang kicked the covers off of herself and slowly got to her feet. It was rare that she left her bed these days. Her legs were stiff from so much inactivity. The old Yang would have been appalled at how sedentary she’d become, but the old Yang was dead.

Yang made her way through the small house to the single bathroom and shut the door behind her. On days like this, when her mind refused to be still, her only relief was to fill the bathtub with scalding hot water and soak in it until the water turned cold. That way she could just float there and pretend she didn’t exist.

Yang turned on the bathtub faucet and let the water slowly fill it. She glanced in the bathroom mirror. The creature that looked back at her was absolutely wretched. She was wearing two-day-old clothing. Her mane of blonde hair was greasy and matted. Dark bags hung under her lifeless eyes.

Yang was close enough to the mirror that only her face and shoulders were visible. If she concentrated hard enough, she could pretend that she was whole. But it was just an illusion and she knew it.

Yang took a step back and let the mirror show her how she really was. A sneer worked its way onto her face. Her stump of a right arm was just so pathetic looking, it was almost comical. It was a sick joke, and she was the punchline. Red seeped into her eyes. She could see the monster mocking her. She imagined Blake looking disgustedly at her disfigured body. Yang curled her left hand into a fist and slammed it into the mirror with a cry of frustration.

The mirror shattered. Yang felt tiny shards of glass biting ineffectually at her aura. It protected her just like it was supposed to, just like it always had until it had really mattered.

Yang sunk to the floor and curled into a ball.

Hurried footsteps from elsewhere in the house echoed over the sound of the running water. They grew closer until there was a knock at the door. On the other side, Taiyang said, “I heard a noise! Is everything okay?”

Yang didn’t answer. She just curled up even tighter. Tears quietly stained her cheeks.

The door slowly opened. When Taiyang saw the state of his daughter, he rushed into the room. “Oh my poor little girl,” he said.

Yang felt two caring arms prop her up into a sitting position. Then her dad was there, hugging her and rocking her gently as she cried.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Little Dragon,” Taiyang said.

“No!” Yang spat out suddenly. She pushed away from Taiyang. “I wish you’d stop saying that! Everything is not going to be okay! Beacon is crawling with grimm! My friends are gone! Ruby left! And I…I…”

Taiyang took his daughter into his arms again. Yang relented and desperately clutched at his vest. She mumbled, “Why do I always get left behind? Raven. Mom. Blake. Ruby. They all left me.”

Taiyang patted Yang’s back comfortingly. He said, “Ruby will…Ruby will be back. Just you wait and see.”

“I don’t care!” Yang shouted, but it wasn’t true. The floodgates of her emotion had burst open. She was hideously jealous of Ruby for being out in the world, fighting the good fight when she couldn’t anymore. She hated Blake for running away. But more than anything, she longed to have her sister and friends back. Yang’s feelings pulled at her until she felt like she was going to be torn in half.

“I don’t care!” Yang wailed as if she could make herself believe it. “I don’t care! I don’t care!”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It had taken an hour for Yang to calm down again. Taiyang had spent the whole time with her, rocking her gently and whispering comforting things to her. Afterward, Yang had returned to bed to let the numbness claim her once again. She had eventually drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Yang’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of muffled voices on the other side of her bedroom door. She heard her dad speaking to someone. She hoped it wasn’t more well-wishers. Just about everyone she knew on Patch had visited her over the past few months, and she didn’t think she could stand any more well-meaning advice or one more stupid platitude about how everything would get better.

“This isn’t funny Qrow,” Yang heard her dad say.

Yang was surprised to hear her uncle’s name. She figured he’d be running around like crazy, trying to stop Cinder and her minions. Yang rolled over in bed to face the door so she could listen better.

Qrow’s unmistakable scratchy voice answered Taiyang, “Does it look like I’m laughing?”

“Why would Ruby go to Atlas?” Taiyang asked.

Yang sighed and closed her eye. Qrow was just here to give Dad news about Ruby it seemed. It sounded like she was out there being the hero she’d always wanted to be. At least one of them got to live their dreams.

“All the leads dried up in Haven,” Qrow said. “Guess the kid must‘ve found something that pointed her to Atlas.”

“But why would she go alone?” Taiyang demanded.

“I don’t know,” Qrow said. “I think the other kids are trying to find more clues. The only thing I’ve heard about going on in Atlas is increased White Fang activity.”

Yang’s eyes opened. She sat up in bed. Ruby was going after the White Fang? Not only that, she was going after them without what was left of Team JNPR? And uneasy feeling settled in Yang’s stomach. It was quite distinct from the haze of crushing despair that had gripped her for so long.

Taiyang said, “But what if she runs into Cinder there!?”

“You can’t protect her from the world forever, Tai,” Qrow said. “Not with things like they are now. Not when she’s the S—”

“I don’t care what you or your Brotherhood think Ruby is!” Taiyang interrupted. “She’s still my little girl!”

Taiyang and Qrow started to bicker, but Yang had stopped listening. The White Fang were in Atlas, and Ruby was going after them. Yang looked down at her stump. She saw that monster again, only this time he held his sword to Ruby instead of Blake. She couldn’t let him hurt her baby sister. She had to do something.

Yang got out of bed. She walked to her bedroom door and pushed it open. The door opened into the house’s small living area. Qrow and Taiyang were standing there face-to-face like they were about to come to blows. Their argument stopped the moment they heard the creak of Yang’s door.

“Dad, we have to go to Atlas,” Yang said deliberately.

“I, uh…We do?” Taiyang asked.

“Ruby’s there. She needs our help,” Yang said.

“You’re right!” Taiyang said, instantly brightening. “You’re absolutely right!”

Qrow scratched his head. “That’s really not a good idea. Things have gotten really dangerous out there.”

Yang said, “Then we’d better get going right away.”

“Look kid, there’s no way you’re going to be able to get a permit to travel to Atlas,” Qrow said. “After what happened at the Vytal Festival, the place is practically on lockdown.”

Taiyang, who had already produced a suitcase, said, “But you have permission to travel. And I bet you could get permission for us too. I think Ironwood owes you at least that much.”

“It doesn’t matter what he owes me,” Qrow said exasperatedly. “I can’t contact him with the CCTTs down.”

“Ruby needs us, Uncle Qrow,” Yang said with a resolve that surprised her. “So we’re going to Atlas.”

“You heard my daughter,” Taiyang said. He was rushing through the house, haphazardly tossing things into his suitcase. “So are you going to help us or not?”

“This is a bad idea,” Qrow grumbled in frustration. He produced his flask and took a long drink. “Fine. I’ll help. But you’re on your own once you get there! I’ve still got my own mission.”

“Thanks, Uncle Qrow,” Yang said. She knew Qrow was right. This was a bad idea. In fact, this might be the worst idea she’d ever had. Even if she managed to find Ruby, what could she really do to help? She’d probably end up being nothing more than a burden. She was once again leaping to someone’s rescue without thinking about the consequences, but she couldn’t help it. Besides Dad, Ruby was the one thing she had left in this world, and for the first time in months, Yang felt the need to act.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending of RWBY Volume 3 could not have come at a worse time for me. It just happened to coincide with a member of my immediate family having to undergo an amputation in order to save their life. Needless to say, I was a bit of an emotional wreck. This story was born from the need for me to sort out my feelings. But don’t worry. It’s not going to be all gloom and doom. You can’t keep Yang down forever.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	2. Bleak as Snow

Yang and her dad and uncle had managed to secure a flight to Atlas after some antics on Taiyang’s part. Yang was surprised that the police hadn’t been called, but fortunately, Uncle Qrow’s smooth talking had calmed everything down. He could be very charming when he put his mind to it.

The flight from Vale had been long, boring, and almost completely devoid of other passengers. Yang had spent the time contemplating what an idiotic mistake she was making. The closer they’d gotten to Atlas, the more she’d wanted to go home and crawl back into bed. It was too late for Yang to change her mind now, however. They’d arrived. The three of them were already walking down the exit ramp at the airdocks.

Winters in the northern kingdom of Atlas were bitterly cold and this one was no exception. Yang was dressed appropriately for the weather, with a thick, brown jacket and a yellow knit cap and matching scarf. The right sleeve of her jacket was rolled up and pinned in place to keep it from flopping around. It had actually been a long time since Yang had worn proper winter clothes, even though her dad had kept buying them for her. She’d figured out a long time ago how to use her semblance to keep herself warm. It was something she used to do all the time just to show off when the weather turned cold. However, she didn’t feel much like showing off these days.

Qrow was traveling light as he always did, but Taiyang was carrying a suitcase for himself in one hand and a duffel for Yang in the other. Like all huntsmen, Qrow and Taiyang had their weapons close at hand. Qrow’s scythe was in its usual place, and Taiyang’s poleaxe was folded up into its rifle configuration and slung over his shoulder. Yang was wearing Ember Celica as well—at least the left half of it. Her right gauntlet had been lost along with her arm. For all she knew it had ended up inside some grimm’s stomach. She hadn’t planned on bringing her remaining gauntlet with her, but Taiyang had insisted. She had humored him rather that argue, for all the good it would do if a fight broke out.

“Ah great,” Qrow said irritably, glancing down the ramp. “It’s the Ice Queen.”

Yang perked up at the mention of Weiss’s nickname. She hadn’t even thought about it, but last Yang had heard Weiss had returned to Atlas. She followed Qrow’s gaze but saw that he was looking at someone else entirely. There was a young woman with ivory hair standing rigidly at the end of the ramp, accompanied by a small entourage that included a few soldiers and mechanical Atlesian Knights. She was dressed regally in an expensive looking pea coat and fur hat. An elegant saber hung from her hip. Her expression was one of carefully practiced aloofness. Yang realized the woman must be Weiss’s sister. She’d never had a chance to meet Winter during her brief visit to Vale, but the family resemblance was unmistakable.

“Is that Winter Schnee?” Taiyang asked. “What’s she doing here?”

“Ironwood probably sent her here to see what I’m up to,” Qrow said. “Or to piss me off. If that’s the case, it’s working.”

As the trio approached, Yang caught Winter’s eyes darting to her missing arm. Yang scowled. Everyone always had the same reaction when they saw it. First it was disbelief, then it was pity. Yang hated it, especially the pity. Pity didn’t fix anything; it just reminded her that she was broken. To Yang’s surprise however, something more akin to disapproval flashed in Winter’s eyes until she quickly schooled her face back to its default expression.

“Here for a rematch, Specialist?” Qrow asked as disrespectfully as he could. “Or has old Jimmy sent you to finally apologize?”

“Neither,” Winter said in her characteristic monotone. “As hard as you may find this to believe, I have no business with you today.”

“Well that hurts my feelings,” Qrow said. “So what are you doing here then?”

Winter looked past Qrow and at Yang and Taiyang. “My business is with them.”

“Us?” Taiyang asked, scratching his head. “If this is about that little, uh, misunderstanding we had getting tickets to Atlas…”

Qrow elbowed Taiyang in the gut. “Shut up, Tai,” he mumbled.

Winter’s eyes narrowed, but she said, “I’m here to inform you that Yang Xiao Long’s application to transfer to Atlas Academy has been approved.”

“It has? But Yang didn’t apply to Atlas,” Taiyang said, dumbly.

Qrow sighed wearily and went for his flask.

Winter said, “That would be unfortunate, if it were true. Given the recent events at the Vytal Festival, no one is currently being allowed into Atlas unless they have a valid reason. Anyone caught trying to enter the kingdom without proper authorization is to be arrested on sight.”

“Uh…” Taiyang said.

“But as your daughter is now a student at Atlas Academy, you both have cause to enter the kingdom,” Winter said.

“Oh. Oh!” Taiyang said. “Well, uh, that is why we’re here.”

“I’m sure,” Winter said.

“Well, well,” Qrow said mockingly. “The Ice Queen bending the rules. I thought I’d never see the day. What’s the occasion?”

“I’m not bending any rules!” Winter said a little too quickly.

“Sure you’re not,” Qrow said.

Winter’s eyes twitched, but she kept her calm. She turned back to Taiyang. “Unfortunately, now that your daughter is here, you must leave Atlas immediately.”

“What!?” Taiyang said. “That’s ridiculous!”

“You should be grateful that you have been given the privilege of briefly visiting Atlas during these troubled times to see your daughter off,” Winter said.

“Well I’m not leaving,” Taiyang said. He placed his arms around Yang. “I have to look after my little girl.”

“As a huntsman yourself, I think you know that if your daughter needs looking after, she has no business being enrolled in a combat school,” Winter said.

“Did you know this would happen, Qrow?” Taiyang asked accusingly.

“No,” Qrow said. “I thought the two of you would’ve been thrown in jail.”

Taiyang pointed a finger at Winter. “Well don’t you think for a minute that—”

“Excuse me, sir,” one of Winter’s entourage said in a polite tone. “You needn’t worry about Yang. I’ll look after her.”

Yang recognized the voice. “Weiss?” she asked.

“Hello, Yang. It’s…good to see you again,” Weiss said, stepping forward.

Yang was surprised she hadn’t noticed Weiss there, even given her current emotional state. Maybe it was because Weiss was wearing an Atlas Academy uniform and had her hair up in a bun instead of her usual side-tail.

Taiyang asked, “And who are you?”

“Dad, this is Weiss,” Yang explained. “Ruby’s partner, remember?”

“You’re Ruby’s partner?” Taiyang asked.

“Yes sir. At least, I was when we were both attending Beacon,” Weiss said.

“Ruby’s told me a lot about you,” Taiyang said. “She has a lot of respect for you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Weiss said, briefly bowing her head.

“Yang? Are you okay with this?” Taiyang asked.

Yang realized this was her chance to back out. She could admit defeat and go back home. The trouble Winter was giving them was the best excuse she was going to get.

Yang looked at Weiss. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see. Weiss was doing her best to affect the same aloof air as her sister, but with much less success. Yang could see turbulent emotions swirling in her eyes, but there was also something else. If Yang had to put a named to it, it would be hope.

Yang looked back at her dad and said, “Yeah. I’ll be okay.”

Taiyang nodded. He set down his bags and then enveloped Yang in a bear hug. “Make sure both my girls come back to me, alright?”

“I will,” Yang said, hugging her dad back as best she could with only one arm.

“I love you, Little Dragon,” Taiyang said.

Winter interjected, “I believe your airship back to Vale is departing soon. I suggest you don’t miss it.”

Taiyang let go of his daughter. “You be good, Sweetie,” he said. He picked up his suitcase, leaving Yang’s duffel behind. As he started walking back to the airship, he shouted over his shoulder. “And be sure to write! I want to hear about everything!”

“I will,” Yang said.

Qrow took one more long swig from his flask. When he was done, he looked at Yang with an unreadable expression. He put his flask away and said, “Good luck, kid.” Then he walked away.

Yang watched her dad and uncle go. She felt a quick stab of panic. Regardless of how bad an idea this was, she was well and truly committed now. Dad was counting on her to find Ruby.

Weiss said, “I’ve made arrangements for your accommodation until you’re assigned a dorm room.”

Yang looked back at Weiss. At least she wasn’t completely alone in this unfamiliar kingdom. It was so weird seeing someone else from Team RWBY again. It was even weirder because of how Weiss was dressed. It was like Yang had fallen into some strange new world where the people were the same, but all the rules had changed. She supposed in a sense that was true.

“It’s good to see you again too,” Yang said.

Winter cleared her throat loudly. “As touching as this is, we all have places we need to be.”

“Right,” Yang said. “Thanks for getting me into Atlas.”

“Don’t thank me. It was my sister who sponsored you,” Winter said in a tone that made it clear she didn’t approve. “I trust your performance won’t reflect poorly on her. Atlas Academy expects nothing but the best from all of its students regardless of their…circumstances.”

“You needn’t worry,” Weiss said. “Yang won’t disappoint.”

“We will see,” Winter said. With that, she turned on her heels and walk purposefully away, her entourage in tow.

Yang turned to Weiss. “Thank you.”

“Anything for a friend,” Weiss said. “There’s a limousine waiting for us, if you’re ready.”

Yang reached down and picked up her duffel. “Lead the way,” she said.

The car waiting for Yang and Weiss was long and sleek. The Schnee Company logo was emblazoned on it everywhere. It was very clearly as much a display of wealth and power as it was a means of transportation. Yang didn’t much like it. The arrogance the car represented was almost palpable enough to choke on.

A fit-looking young man was dutifully waiting by the car. When he saw Weiss and Yang approaching, he stood up a little straighter. He looked at Yang and said, “Can I take your luggage for you, miss?”

“I got it, thanks,” Yang said defensively.

“It’s alright, Yang,” Weiss said. “He’s just going to put it in the trunk.”

“Oh. Fine,” Yang said. She handed the bag to the man. He teetered a bit when Yang let go. The duffel wasn’t as light as she’d made it look. Taiyang had packed the bag, and he was not one to leave behind anything that he thought might be needed.

The young man managed to keep his balance and opened the door for the two young women. Yang followed Weiss into the limo. The interior was more like a luxury resort than a car. It was plush and padded and boasted a minibar, data ports to plug in scrolls and even a holographic projector.

After loading Yang’s duffel into the trunk, the young man took his place in the driver’s seat. He asked Weiss, “What is your destination, madam?”

“To the mansion please,” Weiss said.

“Yes madam.” The driver nodded and started up the car.

Yang asked, “You’re putting me up at the Schnee family mansion? Does your dad know?”

“My father is away on business,” Weiss said, not bothering to disguise the venom in her voice. “He’s busy visiting Vale to reassure investors that the attack won’t negatively impact Schnee Dust Company business there.”

“Oh,” Yang said.

As the limo navigated the city streets of Atlas, an awkward silence settled between Yang and Weiss. Their relationship had suffered its ups and downs in the time they had known each other. And it had started on a very down note. That was no surprise. Being mean to Ruby was the easiest way to get on Yang’s bad side. Weiss’s later clash with Blake over her history with the White Fang had not helped matters. However, as Weiss’s true character had begun to shine through the mask her father had taught her to wear, Yang had grown to like her. Eventually, she had been just as proud to call Weiss her teammate as Ruby or Blake.

The training that Yang and Weiss had done together to prepare for the doubles round in the Vytal Festival had really brought then closer together as friends. But now, after all the months apart, after everything that had happened, it was like they were strangers again.

“Your father seems nice,” Weiss said, trying to break the silence.

“He is,” Yang said. She searched for something more to say. All she came up with was, “That uniform looks good on you.”

“I don’t really care for it,” Weiss said, self-consciously picking at the hem of the skirt. “But Atlas is much more strict about their dress code than Beacon.”

“I guess that explains the bun,” Yang said.

“I don’t care for that either,” Weiss said.

“So…how is Atlas Academy?” Yang asked.

“Very different. I’ve been made the leader of my own team. Team WHYT,” Weiss said.

“Isn’t it weird to be made team leader mid-semester?” Yang asked.

“My father insisted,” Weiss said ruefully. “He’s one of the Academy’s biggest financial backers. He used his influence to make sure I was, ‘put in a position fitting of my status as a Schnee.’”

“Wow,” Yang said.

“It’s been…difficult being back here. Father’s expectations for me have never changed, but it was much easier to ignore him when we were an ocean apart,” Weiss said. “And Team WHYT isn’t like Team RWBY.”

“Being leader isn’t what you expected, huh?” Yang asked.

“Well yes, but that’s not really it,” Weiss said. “My new partner, Hazelle, was a team leader herself until my father’s meddling. She isn’t happy with the new arrangements.”

Yang wondered if she should remind Weiss of her own behavior back when Ruby was appointed team leader over her. The old Yang would have gladly made a jibe about Weiss getting a taste of her own medicine, but Yang decided to not bring it up.

“You know I’m not actually going to go to Atlas Academy, right?” Yang asked, hoping she hadn’t inadvertently created trouble for Weiss.

“I had expected that,” Weiss said. “But when I heard you and your father and uncle had bullied your way onto an airship flying to Atlas, sponsoring you was all I could think to do. Winter was going to arrest you.”

“How’d you change her mind?” Yang asked.

“I…I begged her,” Weiss said.

“Oh. Um…” Yang said. She knew that begging was not something Weiss would do lightly. “Well, thanks again.”

“So why did you come here?” Weiss asked.

Yang looked away. She lowered her head slowly and said, “I’m here to find Ruby. She’s come to Atlas. Alone.”

“Ruby’s here!?” Weiss exclaimed. In an instant, she whipped out her scroll and dialed a number.

“I thought the CCTTs weren’t working,” Yang said.

“They have the local network back up in Atlas,” Weiss said. Her scroll rang several times. “Why isn’t she answering?”

“That prick Mercury shot Ruby’s scroll,” Yang said. “I don’t think she’s replaced it. No point really with the towers down.”

Weiss looked very disappointed. She closed her scroll. “What about Blake? Have you heard from her?”

“No,” Yang said tersely.

“Well maybe she’s—” Weiss started.

“I don’t care,” Yang said. Maybe if she said it enough times she would believe it.

“We…we don’t know why she ran away, Yang. She could have had a good reason,” Weiss said.

“I never thought you’d be the one defending her to me,” Yang said.

The hurt look on Weiss’s face immediately made Yang regret what she’d said. Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but promptly closed it again.

Yang sighed wearily. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

The limousine came to a halt. Yang glanced out the window and saw that they’d arrived. The driver stepped out of the car and once again opened the door for his passengers. Yang had never really wondered what the Schnee family residence looked like, and it was just as well. The real thing overshadowed anything she might have imagined. It was positively massive with imposing arches and pointed rooftops. It was not a home but a castle where the lord of the land could plot his next conquest.

The mansion and its surrounding grounds were situated on a hilltop on the outskirts of downtown Atlas. All the better for the king to survey his domain. The view was simply breathtaking. If Yang had been in a better mood, she might have been inspired by the sight.

Yang saw the driver handling her bag. She immediately snatched it out of his hand. “I got it,” she said.

“Are you sure you—” the driver started.

Yang flashed him a look that shut him up quick.

Weiss had already made her way to the mansion’s entryway. Yang jogged to catch up with her and followed her through the front door. The grand foyer inside was designed to impress. Lavish carpets and priceless works of art decorated the space. Statues of the great Schnees of the past lined both sides of the room, standing guard like soldiers. As Yang walked past them she couldn’t help but feel that their cold, lifeless eyes were judging her.

Yang had had many preconceived notions about Weiss’s family—everyone the world over did—but it wasn’t until now that she really understood what they were like. Despite everything filling it, the foyer felt empty. The art and statues and decorations all looked too perfect to be real. This might as well have been a museum with everything sealed behind a barrier of glass.

Yang hadn’t stopped to consider what kind of trauma Weiss might have gone through these past few months. Weiss had never spoken fondly of her dad, when she had even spoken of him at all. If the foyer was any indication, he was a man that needed to control everyone and everything in his life. That need undoubtedly extended to his youngest daughter.

“I’ve had the staff prepare a room for you,” Weiss said with her back to Yang.

Yang set her bag down and grabbed Weiss’s arm, forcing her to stop and turn around. She said, “Look, Weiss, I’m sorry, okay?”

“It’s alright. I deserved that,” Weiss said.

“No. You didn’t,” Yang said. “You’re not that person anymore, even if you’re back in Atlas.”

“Thanks, Yang,” Weiss said. “So do you know why your sister came here? Does she think Cinder is here?”

“I don’t know,” Yang said. “My uncle thinks it’s because the White Fang are here in Atlas.”

“The White Fang? That explains why my father was so agitated just before he left. Do you think…?” Weiss trailed off.

“Do I think what?” Yang asked.

Weiss’s eyes flickered to Yang’s missing arm. She hesitantly asked, “Do you think he’s here?”

Yang lowered her eyes. There was no question who Weiss was talking about. “I don’t know,” she said softly. “But if he is…and Ruby…”

“We won’t let anything happen to her,” Weiss said.

“Yeah,” Yang said uncertainly.

“Well, if the White Fang really are here, we need to get you back into fighting shape,” Weiss said.

Yang looked up sharply. Her eye’s narrowed. “That’s not funny.”

“I should hope not. It wasn’t a joke,” Weiss said.

“I am sick and tired of everyone thinking that I am going to be alright! Look at me!” Yang waved her stump in front of Weiss. “This is not something you get better from!”

“That attitude certainly won’t help,” Weiss said.

Yang blinked and her eyes went red. “Are you mocking me?”

“Not at all,” Weiss said. “This is Atlas. The finest technology in all of Remnant can be found here. Including the latest in cybernetics.”

“Dad already looked into that!” Yang said. “But even if we sold everything we owned, we still wouldn’t have enough money for something like that.”

Weiss looked Yang dead in the eye. “Think about who you’re talking to. Money is not going to be a concern.”

“You…you’re going to buy me a new arm?” Yang asked bewildered. Her eyes shifted back to their usual lilac hue.

“What good is my family’s wealth if I can’t use it for something like that?” Weiss asked.

“Would your dad even let you?” Yang asked.

“I’m sure father wouldn’t approve, but I couldn’t care less what he thinks,” Weiss said. “He gave me back access to my trust fund, and I will spend it as I see fit.”

“I…” Yang stammered. A small feeling of hope began to rise in her chest. She instinctively pushed it down. She had spent the last few months hiding from her own emotions, terrified of the demons they might unleash. She was afraid that this new glimmer of hope might vanish like a wisp of smoke if she touched it, and she’d be left devastated all over again.

“We’ll need to research which doctors are able to perform the procedure,” Weiss said. “We can start today if you feel ready.”

Yang looked at her stump. Could it really be as simple as that? It was stupid, but she had grown so used to feeling numb and useless that she almost didn’t want to feel better. Despair had just become her new normal, and she hadn’t been prepared for that to change.

“Yang?” Weiss asked softly.

“Yeah,” Yang said. “I’m up for it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who have been reading this story from the beginning may or may not have noticed that I bumped up the rating from Teen to Mature. This is because I realized there will be sexy times to be had in a later chapter. For those of you who aren't in to that sort of thing, I will put a warning in the author's notes in front of any M-rated chapters. Also a Teen and Up version will be posted over at FanFiction.net.
> 
> This was written before it was revealed what Taiyang’s weapon was, so I had to take a guess. So just remember, if it turns out to be a poleaxe that’s also a gun, I totally called it.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	3. Dreams and Hope

Weiss had absolutely insisted that Yang’s treatment be handled by the best Atlas had to offer, and that meant going to the Blutig Medical Center. As Weiss had explained it to Yang, it was the most prestigious medical facility in the whole kingdom if not the whole world. It turned out that Blutig was one of the only places that could perform cybernetic replacement surgery anyway. There were few technology companies that could manufacture the artificial limbs and even fewer doctors proficient in the surgical procedures necessary to attach them.

Yang had gone bug-eyed when she’d seen the estimated cost of the surgery. She doubted she’d ever earn that much Lien in her entire life, but Weiss hadn’t been concerned. In fact, she’d seemed to get a sort of sadistic glee from spending her dad’s money on something he wouldn’t approve of.

Even with the prohibitive cost of the surgery, there was a waiting list to have the procedure done. Weiss had used the influence of her family name to get Yang bumped up to the front of the line. Ordinarily, Yang wouldn’t have been comfortable with such blatant cheating, but Weiss had simply told Yang that the sooner she had two arms, the sooner she would be able to help Ruby. It wasn’t something Yang could argue against.

A whirlwind of consultations and pre-op procedures later, Yang found herself lying on an operating table. There was a bevy of nurses and doctor’s assistants in the room, hooking Yang up to monitoring equipment and getting ready for the doctor’s arrival.

Yang was more nervous than she would care to admit. She was no stranger to Beacon Academy’s medical ward, but getting patched up after a good fight was very different than undergoing actual surgery. She was really eager for this to be over with.

The doctor finally walked into the room wearing black surgical scrubs. His name was Dr. Schwartz if Yang remembered correctly; the past few days had been a blur. Dr. Schwartz looked far too young to be performing cutting-edge surgery, but if he could get the job done, Yang wasn’t going to hold his age against him.

“How are we doing this morning, Ms. Xiao Long?” Dr. Schwartz asked jovially.

“Fine,” Yang said tersely. She was really, really tired of people asking her that.

“Are you ready to get started?” Dr. Schwartz asked.

“Yeah. Let’s do this,” Yang said.

“Let’s get the anesthetic going,” Dr. Schwartz said to one of his assistants.

A nurse produced a device that looked a lot like a nail gun with a plastic tube attached to it. Yang had seen one before. It was called an injector, and it was used to get needles into people with active auras. There were many wonderful benefits to aura, but it did tend to complicate certain medical procedures. Yang didn’t even want to know what kind of cutting implements Dr. Schwartz was going to have to use to operate on her.

“This won’t hurt a bit,” the nurse said as she pressed the injector to a vein in Yang’s left arm. Yang knew she was lying.

The nurse pulled the trigger on the injector. There was a loud clacking sound accompanied by a whiff of yellow Dust. Yang felt the sharp sting of the needle as it punched through her aura and embedded itself in her skin.

The nurse withdrew the injector, leaving the needle and tube in place. The drugs started flowing. Yang felt their effect almost immediately. It was like someone had thrown a wet blanket over her. Her vision started getting hazy. She heard Dr. Schwartz say something, but it was too muffled for her to make out. A moment later, she slipped into unconsciousness.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Yang was walking down a footpath on Beacon Academy’s campus. At least, Yang was pretty sure she was at Beacon Academy. Everything looked familiar, although not all of it was quite right. Buildings had been relocated or had even taken on different shapes and sizes. New paths that Yang had never seen before crisscrossed between them. None of the damage from the battle was evident either. Maybe it had been repaired.

Yang began to wander. She couldn’t remember what she’d been doing or even how she’d gotten to Beacon. She felt like she should be looking for something, but she wasn’t sure what.

The campus was eerily quiet. There was no wind or the rustling of leaves. There was no chatter of students making their way from class to class. Even Yang’s footsteps were completely silent.

Yang passed by empty dormitories and classrooms. There was no one about except her. Even the birds and squirrels that made their homes in Beacon’s trees were gone. Yang was all alone with nothing but beautiful silence to accompany her.

Suddenly there was the soft tap of a heeled boot on cement. The tiny sound was like a thunderous crash in the quiet of the absolute silence. Yang looked around to try to find the source of the sound, but she didn’t see anyone or anything disturbing the perfect stillness.

There were more footsteps. They were slow and steady like someone was taking a casual stroll. The footsteps teased Yang, flitting about here and there. Just as they grew louder, Yang would turn a corner to find nothing there. Yang started searching more desperately. She was drawn to the sound like it was water in a desert.

The footsteps led Yang off the path and into a forest that had sprung up from nowhere. They grew louder and louder, closer and closer, spurring Yang into a run. She pushed tree branches and foliage out of her way as she went. The footstep’s source was definitely ahead; Yang thought she could even see someone through the leaves.

Yang burst through a bush only to be confronted with Beacon’s dining hall. She froze. This was where it had happened.

Cautiously, Yang stepped forward. There was no sign of the monster or any grimm. There were no scorch marks from the fires that had burned. It had all been forgotten and erased. Yang walked up to the dining hall’s doors. They were much larger than she remembered. They looked fit to guard the keep of an ancient castle.

Yang pushed on the gargantuan doors with all her might. Their weight resisted her, but slowly they yielded and opened. On the other side, there was the figure of a woman with her back to Yang. She had a bow, wavy black hair, and coattails. Even from behind, Yang recognized her. She would recognize Blake anywhere.

Blake started to walk away. Yang tried to call out to her but found she couldn’t make any sound at all. She ran as fast as she could, but no matter how hard she tried, Blake seemed to get farther and farther away.

Yang reached out for Blake. She was desperate for her partner to turn around, to see her, to do anything but leave. But everything began to fade. Beacon Academy vanished into an inky void, and Blake became nothing more than an invisible silhouette of black on black.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Yang slowly opened her eyes as consciousness returned to her. The world around her was a blur of sterile white. She was apparently lying in a bed, but it didn’t feel like her own. It took her a moment to remember that she was in a hospital, although her drug-addled brain couldn’t quite come up with the reason why.

“Ah. You’re finally awake,” a familiar voice said. A face appeared in Yang’s field of view. It was too blurry to make out, but the voice sounded a lot like Weiss.

“Blugh,” Yang managed.

“Elegant as always,” the voice quipped. It was definitely Weiss.

“Shut…up…” Yang slurred. Disoriented or not, Yang would never take sass from Weiss lying down, figuratively speaking.

“Dr. Schwartz said the surgery went well,” Weiss said.

“The surgery!” Yang said, suddenly remembering why she was here. She struggled to sit up.

“Whoa! Try to stay calm,” Weiss said.

Yang felt a hand gently push her back down.

“Here,” Weiss said. Yang saw her reach for something. There was the soft whir of a motor and the front of Yang’s bed tilted up, bring her into a reclining position.

“Thanks,” Yang said. She lifted her right arm so she could see it. It was still just a stump, but there were some new additions to it.

Yang concentrated hard to try and push the drugs out of her system. It took a minute, but her vision cleared. There was a ring of metal embedded in the end of her arm. It had several ports of some kind along the circumference that looked like they belonged on a computer. The skin around the implant was puffy and inflamed, but Yang could feel her aura already working to heal her.

“Well, it’s a start,” Yang said. “When do I get the rest?”

“As soon as the doctor arrives, I’m told,” Weiss said.

Right on cue, the door opened and Dr. Schwartz walked in. He was pushing a cart with a metal case and a few other sundries on it.

Dr. Schwartz said, “Good afternoon, Ms. Xiao Long. How are you feeling? Any pain or discomfort at the moment?”

“Not really,” Yang said. “I think you gave me enough drugs to knock out a goliath.”

“Just about,” Dr. Schwartz said. “You wouldn’t believe the cocktail we have to pump into a patient with an activated aura. Your semblance didn’t help either. It was burning through anesthetic at, quite frankly, an alarming rate. It really gave the anesthesiologist fits.”

“Great,” Yang said glumly. She used to absolutely revel in her semblance. These days she wished more and more that she’d never been born with it.

“Well, it’s best to do this next part when you’re still feeling the effects of the anesthetic anyway,” Dr. Schwartz said. “So are you ready to try out your new arm?”

“I’m ready,” Yang said, trying not to sound too pathetically eager. It really hit her for the first time what was about to happen. Just a few more minutes and all her problems would be over.

Dr. Schwartz picked up a leather restraint from the cart. He walked over to Yang and used it to strap her right arm to the bed.

“What’s that for?” Yang asked.

“When I connect a new prosthetic, things can get a little crazy,” Dr. Schwartz said. “The first time I did this, the patient punched himself in the mouth. It was hilarious, in hindsight.”

Weiss said, “We appreciate you not subjecting Yang to that.”

Dr. Schwartz went back to the cart. He opened the metal case. Inside was a cybernetic arm encased in foam padding. Dr. Schwartz pulled the arm out. It was colored matte black with yellow highlights. The old Yang would’ve described it as badass looking.

Dr. Schwartz grabbed another restraint. He placed the arm on the bed next to Yang’s right and tied it down as well, albeit more loosely. He took Yang’s stump and gently guided it into position. He carefully lined up the ports embedded in Yang’s skin with the corresponding prongs on the arm. “Brace yourself,” he said. “This will feel a little weird.”

With a sharp motion, Dr. Schwartz connected Yang’s real arm with the artificial one. There was a click as the ports locked into place. Yang was immediately bombarded with an excruciating itching sensation all along her right side. It was similar to the phantom pains that had plagued her these past months only much more intense. The prosthetic arm jumped up and pulled hard against the restraint. The mechanical fingers twitched erratically.

Weiss asked, “Is that normal?”

“Quite normal. Hence the restraints,” Dr. Schwartz said. “Ms. Xiao Long, I want you to focus. Try to lay your arm back down on the bed and keep it still.”

Yang concentrated hard. Her rebellious cybernetic arm jerked downward sharply, then came right back up. Yang’s brows knitted together in frustration.

“Don’t try and fight it,” Dr. Schwartz said. “Work with it, not against it.”

Yang stopped trying to control the arm for a moment, then eased back into it. Her artificial limb slowly started to calm down. It came to rest on the bed, and after a few more errant twitches, stayed there. The itching sensation began to fade. Yang felt her muscles relax. She hadn’t realized she’d been tensing them.

“Very good,” Dr. Schwartz said. “Now let’s try flexing the fingers.”

Yang’s new fingers moved with an unnatural jerking motion, but her hand did close and open again.

“Excellent,” Dr. Schwartz said. “Once your nervous system adjusts, you should have almost as much manual dexterity as before.”

Dr. Schwartz removed both of the restraints. Yang lifted her new hand up and held it in front of her face. She turned it from side to side and moved each of the fingers individually. Her expression was stuck somewhere between fascination and disbelief.

“There won’t be much tactile sensation. We’re still working on that,” Dr. Schwartz said. “But you will be able to feel when something is in contact with your new arm. The cybernetics are powered by your aura, so there’s no need to worry about recharging, and the construction is mostly carbon fiber, so it’s nice and light and durable. The arm will require periodic maintenance, however. I’ll go over all of that with you later.”

Yang had only half-heard what Dr. Schwartz had said. Now that the discomfort had passed, she was completely enthralled by the new limb that had been grafted on to her. The simple act of moving her new fingers was euphoric. “I need a mirror,” she said.

“Of course, there’s one in the bathroom,” Dr. Schwartz said. “There are still some diagnoses to run, but we can do that later.”

“Yeah, later would be good,” Yang said absently.

“I’ll give you and Ms. Schnee some time alone,” Dr. Schwartz said. He tossed the restraints back onto the cart and pushed it out of the room.

Yang got out of bed. She wobbled a little bit, still not completely over the anesthetic.

“Careful!” Weiss said. She was at Yang’s side in an instant.

Yang ignored Weiss and walked straight into the small, attached bathroom. Out of habit, she flipped the light switch with her left hand. The lights came on, but Yang didn’t look into the mirror just yet. She walked right up to the sink, and then raised her head. Only her head and shoulders were visible in the mirror. Even the short amount of time she had spent out of bed had done wonders for her appearance. The wretched creature that had haunted her bathroom mirror back on Patch was nowhere to be seen. Yang might even have been able to pretend that everything was normal from what she saw now.

Yang stepped back until the rest of her came into view. She saw two arms. One made of flesh and blood, and the other made of carbon and metal. A powerful emotion surged in Yang’s chest and threatened to overwhelm her. She lifted her hands, both of them, and looked down at them. She had two hands. She had two arms.

Weiss approached quietly from behind. “I had some input on the design of your prosthetic. I hope you like it.”

Yang spun around and enveloped Weiss in a bone-crushing bear hug. Weiss threw her hands up in surprise. She normally had a strict no-touching policy, but instead of pushing Yang away like she clearly wanted to do, she patted her comfortingly, if awkwardly, on the back.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Yang gushed. Tears flowed from her eyes and wetted the shoulder of Weiss’s blouse.

“You’re welcome,” Weiss wheezed, struggling to breathe in Yang’s crushing grip.

Yang just stood there, hugging poor Weiss. She couldn’t even describe the feelings that were bombarding her, and most gloriously, she didn’t have to fight them. She’d spent so much time desperately trying to bury everything into the deepest, darkest part of her soul, but now she could let everything out. She didn’t have to be afraid to feel anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve always been a bit fascinated by the disadvantages that otherwise awesome superpowers might bring. Being nigh-invulnerable would be nice, right up until a doctor needed to perform lifesaving surgery on you.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	4. Losing and Winning

When Yang was finally released from the medical center, it was all of an hour before she found her way to the Schnee mansion’s state-of-the-art exercise and training facility. Like everything in the Schnee mansion, it boasted nothing less than the best the world had to offer. It even included a full-size dueling arena.

Most of the facility’s equipment looked absolutely pristine. Yang wondered if half of it had ever even been used. She was getting the impression that daddy Schnee didn’t really care if there was any need for the things he acquired, just so long as they were the best.

Yang was in the center of the facility, stretching out her poor, stiff muscles. She was dressed for a workout in her tank top and shorts. Her ankles and left hand were wrapped in athletic tape. Out of habit, she had almost taped up her right hand too before realizing that it wouldn’t really make much difference.

Yang finished up her stretching. She walked past all the elaborate resistance training machines, past a row of high-tech practice dummies, and stopped in front of a good old-fashioned punching bag.

Beacon Academy, like the Schnee mansion, had also had a very well-equipped training facility, but Yang had usually passed up using the fancy equipment there too. She preferred to literally beat the stuffing out of a punching bag or three. There was just something so very satisfying about it. It had always been her favorite workout, and it probably always would be.

Yang dropped into a fighting stance.  Even after all these months, her body remembered the correct position. She spent a moment just bouncing on her heels, giving herself a chance to loosen up. She opened with a few quick jabs with her left hand followed by a right hook. She hadn’t quite mastered her new cybernetic arm yet. It still was a little jerky when she moved it. But she was good enough with it to make a fist, and right now that was all she needed to do.

The chains holding up the bag creaked as Yang laid into it. Working out with her new hand was strange. She could feel when she touched something with it; but a forceful punch, a gentle tap, and everything in between all produced the same mild sensation. It was something she’d have to get used to.

Yang decided she’d warmed up enough and really opened up on the punching bag. Her fists struck twice as fast and twice as hard. She dodged and weaved against imagined blows. She even threw in a few kicks for good measure. It was exhilarating to be taking the first steps toward reclaiming her former glory, but it was also exhausting. After only a few minutes, Yang had to draw on her aura to keep up the same intensity. She’d known her long months of being sedentary had taken their toll, but she couldn’t quite believe that she was this out of shape.

Yang kept up her assault, refusing to give up. Her muscles began to ache and her lungs were burning, but she wouldn’t go down before the punching bag did. She wasn’t going to lose to something that couldn’t even fight back.

The punching bag began to tear under the repeated blows. Yang redoubled her efforts. With each hit, the tear got wider. The knuckles on Yang’s left hand began to sting. She saw blood on the punching bag. She’d burned through so much of her aura to keep going that it was no longer protecting her. Without any aura to intervene, she’d torn through the tape over her fingers and broken the skin beneath.

Yang didn’t stop. She ignored the pain and kept punching, kept fighting, just like she used to do. She didn’t care if she ended up breaking all the bones in her fingers; she was going to take down the punching bag. Her aura would heal her, and she was done with giving up.

Sand was already leaking from the punching bag. It had almost given out. With a roar, Yang slammed her artificial fist into the bag and it finally surrendered completely. The bag blew open, and sand sprayed out onto the floor.

Yang doubled over. Her breath came in heaving gasps. Her whole body trembled. Blood dripped from her hand. She tried to right herself but only toppled to the floor. Sweat soaked her clothes and she could hardly move. She was still a shadow of what she’d been, but Yang was beside herself with glee. When she had lost her arm, the worst part had been that no matter how hard she struggled, no matter how hard she tried, there had been nothing she could’ve done to fix it. Being out of shape was entirely different. That Yang could fix. It would be an uphill battle all the way, but Yang was made for battle.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Every day for the next week Yang showed up at the Schnee mansion’s training facility. Every day the facility’s supply of spare punching bag got a little bit smaller. Yang only stopped to eat and sleep. She’d barely even seen Weiss, which was why she was surprised when she walked into the training room one day and found Weiss waiting for her there. Weiss was dressed in her bolero jacket and combat skirt with her rapier hanging at her side. She had the left half of Ember Celica in her hand.

“Come to join the fun?” Yang asked.

“You could say that,” Weiss said. She held up Yang’s bracelet. “I thought you might be ready to move on from punching bags.”

Yang grinned. “Are you challenging me to a fight?”

“A sparring match,” Weiss insisted. “They’re not the same thing.”

“You’re on!” Yang said. She snatched her bracelet out of Weiss’s hand and hooked it onto her wrist.

Yang followed Weiss to the dueling arena. Team RWBY had spent a lot of time sparring last semester. In addition to their regular combat classes, teams were encouraged to spend some of their extracurricular time facing off against one another. It was the best way to learn your teammates’ strengths and weaknesses in battle.

Team RWBY had agreed early on that they wouldn’t concern themselves with who’d beaten who how many times, and instead focus on getting better as a team. It had been a sensible idea that Yang had completely ignored. She’d secretly kept track in her head how well she’d done against everyone. In fact, if she was so inclined, she could list off her win rate against every single student she’d ever fought against.

Ruby would’ve probably been embarrassed to learn just how often Yang beat her. Even with Ruby’s incredible speed, Yang knew all her tricks. After all, they had been mock-fighting each other since they were little girls. More to the point, Yang couldn’t let her baby sister get one up on her. Weiss, however, was an entirely different story. Except for Pyrrha, no one had managed to beat Yang more often than Weiss. And as the semester had gone along, Weiss’s win rate had only gone up. Yang had a huge amount of respect for Weiss’s fighting prowess, although she would never admit it.

Weiss walked up to the dueling arena’s control pad and tapped some buttons. The lights came on and holographic screens flickered to life. She asked, “Shall we use tournament-style rules?”

“I’m up for anything,” Yang said.

Weiss pushed a few more buttons. An automated official with a synthesized voice announced overhead, “Arena is ready. Contestants, to your marks.”

Weiss took her position in the center of the arena on one of the starting marks.

“Contestant One ready,” the official said.

Yang took her position as well. There was a big grin on her face.

“Contestant Two ready,” the official said.

Weiss drew Myrtenaster and held it in front of her in a classic ready pose. Yang activated her gauntlet. Weiss had offered to pay to have the missing half of Ember Celica replaced, but Yang had refused. Like Ruby, she’d crafted her weapon herself. She wasn’t about to let someone else make a cheap copy.

The official started counting down. “Three. Two. One. Begin!”

With a blast from Ember Celica, Yang launched herself toward Weiss. It was a bit awkward using only one gauntlet to propel herself, but she managed. Weiss deftly twirled out of the way and countered with a series of thrusts. Yang managed to block the first few, but the last one broke through her guard. The tip of Myrtenaster clashed against Yang’s aura, although not as forcefully as Yang knew Weiss was capable of.

Yang fired off a blast from her gauntlet. Weiss dodged the spray of shot, but Yang let the recoil spin her around and into a kick aimed right in Weiss’s direction. Weiss managed to duck the blow, but it put her off balance and completely on the defensive.

Yang pressed her advantage with a flurry of punches. Weiss tried to create some distance between them, but Yang matched her step for step. Just went Yang thought she had Weiss cornered, however, Weiss managed to slip away and put Yang back on guard.

Yang and Weiss fought back and forth. Each of them landed a few good hits here and there, but no one kept the advantage for long. Yang should have been loving it, but instead she was getting more and more frustrated as the duel went on. Between her arm, her missing gauntlet, and the past months of inactivity, Weiss had no excuse not to be mopping the floor with her. Instead, the fight was almost easy.

Until now, Yang had only had one fight with Weiss that had been easy. It was the first time they had ever sparred. Weiss had tried to encase Yang in ice, apparently not realizing that Yang could light herself on fire. The results had been predictable and hilarious, at least hilarious to Yang.

Yang realized the only explanation for why this fight was going so well for her was that Weiss was holding back. The fact that Weiss hadn’t used any glyphs or Dust made it all the more obvious.

Yang knew Weiss meant well, but she absolutely, positively refused to be coddled. Now that she had two arms again, she wouldn’t let anyone treat her like she was weak, especially not a teammate.

Yang was about to stop the fight and tell Weiss to get serious when she saw Weiss bring the pommel of Myrtenaster up to her chin just like she always did before she lunged. Yang saw an opportunity to really make sure Weiss understood that she needed to take the kid gloves off. It was probably a bad idea, but if Yang could pull it off, it would be awesome. And that was always reason enough for Yang to try something.

Just as Yang had predicted, Weiss lunged forward. Yang, ready for it, reached out with her cybernetic hand. It was very convenient that Weiss was left-handed, otherwise Myrtenaster would’ve been on the wrong side. The open palm of Yang’s hand connected with Myrtenaster and slid down the rapier’s length. Had Yang’s hand been made of flesh and blood it almost certainly would have been sliced opened, even with an aura protecting it. Yang snapped her fingers shut. She used her strength to yank Myrtenaster out of Weiss’s grip. Weiss stumbled, having been thrown off balance, and a kick from Yang sent her sprawling to the mat.

Weiss got to her feet. No doubt she was expecting Yang to have a goofy smile on her face, just like she usually did whenever she pulled a stunt like that. But Yang was not smiling. Instead, she was giving Weiss her sternest look.

“Stop taking it easy on me,” Yang said.

“Yang, it’s only been a week,” Weiss said. “You can’t expect yourself to be completely recovered.”

Yang could see the sympathy on Weiss’s face. She hated it. It seemed Weiss wanted to do this the hard way. That was fine with Yang. She always enjoyed pushing Weiss’s buttons.

“Well I guess that makes sense,” Yang said.

“I’m glad you agree,” Weiss said, brushing herself off.

“After all, it’ll be way less embarrassing when you lose to me if you can say you weren’t giving it your all,” Yang said.

“What!?” I haven’t lost to you!” Weiss said.

“You haven’t won yet,” Yang said.

“I know what you’re doing, and I’m not going to play this game with you, Xiao Long!” Weiss said.

Yang knew she had Weiss now. Weiss only called her by her last name when she was really annoyed. Yang asked, “So you’re going to surrender then?”

“Who said anything about surrender?” Weiss asked.

“You did. Just now. I accept,” Yang said.

“Stop that!” Weiss demanded.

“It’s not like you can even really fight me when I’ve got your sword.” Yang dangled Myrtenaster in front of Weiss teasingly.

“Yang!” Weiss shouted.

“Winter will be so disappointed when she hears about this,” Yang said, delivering the final, verbal blow.

Yang could actually see the exact moment that Weiss snapped. There wasn’t a scream of rage or any other sub-verbal utterance; Weiss’s face just turned cold enough to frost glass while her eyes lit up with a burning fury that rivaled any fire Yang could produce. Weiss thrust a finger at the ground and a yellow glyph appeared underneath her. Yang recognized it a second too late as Weiss’s time dilation glyph. Of course, a second was all she’d had.

Faster than any human or faunus eye could follow, Weiss charged Yang and punched her in the face with more strength than most people would guess the petite woman possessed. Yang went flying backward. Myrtenaster slipped from her hand and Weiss plucked it out of the air.

Before Yang had even hit the floor, her semblance came to life and energy surged into her. The second she made contact with the mat, she sprung back to her feet, grinning like a madwoman. “That’s more like…oh no.”

White glyphs surrounded Yang on all sides. In a flash, Weiss was everywhere. She struck from the left then the right then the back, all in the blink of an eye. Each blow was precisely measured to inflict just enough damage to not fuel Yang’s semblance any further.

Yang realized she was going to lose far too quickly at this rate, so she took all the strength Weiss’s glyph-assisted punch had given her and smashed her fist into the ground as hard as she could. The resulting shockwave threw Weiss across the arena and blew away all her glyphs.

Yang charged at Weiss immediately. Even as Weiss was scrambling to her feet, Yang could see Myrtenaster’s barrel rotating. Yang guessed that Weiss was about to infuse her rapier with red Dust and forcefully repulse the next blow. That was the tactic Weiss usually fell back on when pressured by a strong opponent.

Just before Yang finished closing the distance, she used her gauntlet to launch herself into the air and came down over Weiss’s guard with a head-over-heels ax kick. The kick connected with enough force to bend solid steel. Weiss’s aura flared brilliantly against the attack, but it could do nothing to keep her on her feet.

Adrenalin flowed through Yang like it never had before. She was actually going to win. After a blow like that, Weiss’s aura had to be nearly depleted. All it would take was one or two more hits and it would all be over.

Yang raised her fist just as a white glyph appeared underneath Weiss. Weiss flicked her wrist and used her glyph to drag herself clear of Yang’s punch. She sprung to her feet. She had indeed loaded Myrtenaster with red Dust, and now she unleashed it all in an inferno of flame.

Yang raised her arms to block. The blast hit her dead-on and sent her skidding backward a few feet. Her semblance hungrily ate up the energy, setting her hair aglow. A strength that even most huntsmen and huntresses could only dream of filled Yang’s body. Power surged just beneath her skin begging to be released. More than anything else, this was what Yang had missed. She was ready to literally explode in a firestorm of destruction, but for the first time ever, she hesitated. Something wasn’t right. Weiss had already hit her hard enough once in this fight to activate her semblance, and Weiss never, ever made the same mistake twice.

Yang was conflicted. A small, strange new part of her was telling her not to charge headlong at Weiss, but her semblance had been awakened and she was not going to ignore it. She shoved her doubts down as deep as they would go and did what she always did. She ran straight toward Weiss, straight toward victory.

Yang didn’t make it. Halfway, her feet adhered to the floor, nearly causing her to fall over. She looked down, confused, and saw a black glyph beneath her.

“Oooooh,” Yang said. She looked back up at Weiss.

Weiss extended two of her fingers and flicked them upward. The glyph holding Yang’s feet to the ground turned red and violently launched her into the air. An instant later, Weiss flew to meet her, Myrtenaster extended and glowing with the power of Nature’s Wrath.

Weiss’s strike connected. There was a bright, white glow followed by an explosion of energy, and Yang was tossed aside like a rag doll. She promptly collided with the arena wall and slid down it unceremoniously to the floor.

“Match! Combatant One wins!” the automated official announced.

Yang lay there, sprawled out on the ground. She tried to bite back her disappointment. For a moment she’d really thought she was going to win. Admittedly, her beating Weiss hadn’t been very likely, but she really, really hated losing.

Yang heard the sound of boots stomping toward her. Then she heard Weiss say, “What were you thinking!?”

“Yeah, sorry about goading you,” Yang said. She picked herself up off the floor. “But hey, it worked.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, you dolt!” Weiss shouted. “Why did you charge me? It was obviously a trap! I know you knew! I saw you hesitate!”

“I figured I could handle it,” Yang said.

“You can’t keep pretending that you’re invulnerable!” Weiss scolded. “You’re not!”

Yang’s expression darkened. “I know I’m not.”

“Then why did you charge? You might have won if you’d been a little more cautious,” Weiss said.

“It was just a sparring match.” Yang shrugged.

“Someday it won’t be! I don’t have to tell you that!” Weiss said.

“No, you really, really don’t,” Yang said. Her artificial hand curled into a fist. She didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“I’m…” Weiss started, then thought better of it. “Look, just try to be more careful in the future.”

“Sure,” Yang said, unconvincingly. She really felt like punching Weiss in the face for reminding her of what she’d been through. It had happened, but it was over now. She could fight again. Everything was alright.

Weiss sighed. She said, “I think it’s time we focus on how to locate your sister.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Yang said, forcing a grin onto her face. “I’ve got a brilliant plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the debate commence on who could beat who in a fight! That’s something that fans never get tired of doing.
> 
> Creating a RWBY-style action sequence in a written format is definitely a challenge. Even without the limiting factor of an animation budget, I don’t think I can compare to the late, great Monty Oum. All I can do is offer up a pale imitation.
> 
> I should note that I have a theory on how Yang’s semblance works. Specifically, I think there’s a certain threshold that has to be passed before a hit will make her stronger. If that’s the case, her fight against Neo in Volume 2 would make a lot more sense.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	5. Beast and Man

There was a huge smile on Yang’s face as she tore down the streets of Atlas on a motorcycle. It was nighttime and Yang had made her way to the seedier side of the city. The streets there weren’t particularly well lit, but that didn’t stop her from pouring on the speed. Just for fun, she let the bike’s clutch out, gunned the throttle, and popped a wheelie.

Weiss, who was perched on the bike’s back seat desperately clinging to Yang’s torso, let out a shriek. “You are absolutely crazy! Why does my father even have this thing?!”

“I told you he would!” Yang shouted over the wind as the motorcycle landed back on its front tire.

Yang had found the bike after an extensive search of papa Schnee’s ridiculously large collection of motor vehicles. Weiss had insisted that Yang would never find anything so bourgeois as a motorcycle among the rows upon rows of luxury cars, but Yang had persisted. She imagined that every rich guy had a motorcycle or two stashed away somewhere.

Yang had found her prize in a forgotten corner of the garage, tucked neatly away under a tarp. It had even come with a helmet and riding goggles. The look on Weiss’s face had been priceless. Yang had taken the opportunity to be insufferably smug about being right.

The motorcycle was white naturally, but Yang had been surprised by the complete lack of the Schnee family crest. Maybe the bike was some leftover of papa Schnee’s reckless youth. Whatever the case was, Yang didn’t really care. It had been far too long since she’d been able to ride, and she intended to enjoy every second of it.

Weiss shouted, “Are we actually going to look for your sister, or are we going spend all night on this infernal deathtrap?”

“Relax, princess,” Yang said. “We just need to find what we’re looking for.”

“And what precisely are we looking for?” Weiss demanded.

“Some place just like…that,” Yang said. She hit the front and rear brakes. Weiss yelp as the bike rapidly came to a halt.

Yang stuck her foot out to prop the bike up and lifted her goggles. She had stopped in front of a rundown bar. From the outside, the bar appeared to be nothing more than a tiny hole-in-the-wall, but the noise drifting out into the street and the bouncer sitting on a stool in front of the entrance told Yang that there was more to it.

Yang glanced over her shoulder at Weiss who had her eyes closed and a white-knuckle grip on Yang. “You can let go now. We’ve stopped.”

Weiss’s eyes flew open. She jumped off the bike as fast as she could.

“You know,” Yang remarked. “You weren’t this scared when Ozpin flung us into the Emerald Forest at a hundred miles an hour.”

“There I had some measure of control!” Weiss said. “I wasn’t at the mercy of a lunatic!”

Yang chuckled. It was good to have Weiss to make fun of again. She reached up and removed her helmet with a toss of her hair.

Yang was wearing the same cream-colored outfit she’d been wearing the night Team RWBY had tried to hunt down clues about Roman Torchwick’s operation. Ruby had declared that day with her usual exuberance that everyone’s “super-secret mission outfits” needed nicknames. She had affectionately dubbed Yang’s “Hunter”. The outfit’s short skirt was not appropriate for the weather, but Yang’s semblance was keeping her warm and tonight she felt like showing off. The only addition to the outfit was a black leather glove Yang wore over her synthetic hand.

Weiss was wearing the jacket-skirt combo Ruby had dubbed “Snow Pea”. Weiss had objected to such a cutesy name but only halfheartedly. Unlike Yang however, Weiss was also wearing thick leggings, gloves, a scarf, and a fur hat. All of them were white of course.

Weiss took one look at the bar they’d stopped in front of and said, “I doubt very much that we’re going to find your sister in there. They wouldn’t even let a sixteen-year-old in.”

“Aww, you kept track of Ruby’s birthday,” Yang cooed. “That’s so cute.”

“That is not what’s important right now!” Weiss said in a huff.

“I know Ruby’s not in there,” Yang said. “But we might be able to get some info we need to find her.”

“Your track record with bars and gathering information does not fill me with confidence,” Weiss said.

Yang ignored the comment and started walking to the entrance. The bouncer guarding the door was a ram-faunus, and he had the curly horns to prove it. He was a mountain of a man. His crossed arms reminded Yang of tree trunks, and even sitting on his stool, he was eye level with her.

As Yang and Weiss approached, the bouncer looked straight at them with a glare so sharp it could’ve cut glass.

Yang, completely unintimidated, said, “Hiya! We hear this is the place to be!”

“Not for you,” the bouncer said in a deep, reverberating voice.

“Ah come on,” Yang said. “I know we look young, but we’re eighteen. You can check our IDs!”

“I don’t need to see your IDs,” the bouncer said. “Get out of here.”

“We could make it worth your while,” Yang said playfully.

The bouncer stood and rose to his full height. Yang had to tilt her head up. He completely towered over her. She guessed he was at least seven feet tall. “Get lost. Now,” he said.

Yang shrugged her shoulders. “Ah well. I tried asking nicely.”

Lightning fast, Yang cocked her arm back and shot her fist straight into the bouncer’s gut. She felt a weak aura that barely put up any resistance before her punch connected with his abs. The bouncer doubled over as the air left his lungs. Before he had a chance to do anything, Yang slammed her other fist straight into his jaw. He toppled over, and Yang had to resist the urge to shout, “Timber!”

“Was that absolutely necessary?” Weiss asked disapprovingly.

“He’ll be back on his feet in a little while,” Yang said.

“And I doubt he’ll be very happy with you,” Weiss said.

“Oh, I’m counting on that,” Yang said coyly. She stepped over the bouncer. “Come on!”

Inside, the bar was very poorly lit. Yang was not surprised, and it only took Weiss a second before she figured out why. Every last one of the bar’s patrons and staff were faunus.

“You brought me to a faunus bar?!” Weiss hissed at Yang.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Schnee!” Yang said much louder than necessary. “I’m sure everyone here is very friendly.”

Weiss blanched at the mention of her family name. In an instant, every single eye in the vicinity was focused on her.

“Are you trying to get us killed?!” Weiss whispered frantically.

“Relax. I know what I’m doing,” Yang said.

“That’s what I’m afraid of!” Weiss said.

Yang dragged poor Weiss through the gloomy room. Just as Yang had suspected, the bar was much larger that it appeared to be on the outside, although it still looked just as cheap and rundown. The floor was covered in dirt and discarded peanut shells. Rickety tables, crowded with faunus were all arranged haphazardly. Surprisingly, however, the horrid smells that usually permeated such places were absent, probably in deference to most faunus’ sensitive noses.

Yang and Weiss passed through the maze of tables. The bar’s patrons all stared openly at them. Weiss looked like she had a target painted on her back, which may well have been true. Yang marched right up to the bar and leaned casually against it. The bartender—a dog-faunus if the droopy ears on top of his head were anything to go by—glanced at Yang. He didn’t say anything, however. He looked rather nonchalant, bored even, unlike everyone else around him.

“I’ll have a strawberry sunrise. With one of those little umbrellas in it,” Yang said like nothing was wrong. “You want anything Weiss?”

“No!” Weiss said.

The bartender still didn’t say anything. He just wandered off. Yang laid even odds that he was actually going to fill her drink order.

“Enough playing around, Yang,” Weiss said nervously. “What are we doing here?”

“We’re looking for the White Fang,” Yang said offhandedly.

The man on the stool next to Yang almost spit out his drink. He quickly emptied his glass and slipped away as discreetly as he could. If any of the bar’s patrons hadn’t been paying attention, Yang now had their undivided attention.

“We’re what?!” Weiss asked. “How is that going to help us find your sister?”

“We’ll never find her just by wandering around a kingdom this big. But if we look for what she’s looking for, we’re bound to run into each other,” Yang explained, proud of her brilliant idea. “It was either that or lay out a trail of strawberries.”

“There are so many reasons why that is a terrible idea!” Weiss said. “How do you even know there are White Fang members here?”

“Well, I don’t,” Yang admitted. “But this is a faunus bar, and I figured with you here…well….”

Weiss’s eyes shot open in understanding. “You’re using me as bait?!”

Yang had no doubt that Weiss would be screaming at the top of her lungs if she hadn’t been concerned about drawing even more attention to herself.

“Well, it sounds bad when you say it like that,” Yang said.

Suddenly the bartender reappeared and set a drink down in front of Yang.

“Hey, thanks!” Yang said. “No umbrella though.”

“Why of all the…you…” Weiss sputtered incoherently.

Yang wasn’t really listening to Weiss. She was concentrating extra hard on making sure she picked up her drink with her cybernetic hand in a completely natural manner. Holding a glass took a lot more finesse that punching your problems in the face, and Yang didn’t want anyone to think that she was anything but in complete control.

Just as Yang raised her glass to take a drink, she spotted the bouncer storming in through the front door. He was joined by two suspicious looking men. Yang downed her drink in one go, enjoying the burn as it poured down her throat. She shoved her left hand into her pocket and slammed a handful of Lien cards down on the bar, keeping her hand on top of them. She would’ve rather used her right hand, but she didn’t have enough sense of touch with it to find things in her pocket.

Yang said to the bartender, “Is there a back way out of here?”

The bartender looked at the money with the same indifferent expression he had worn the whole time. He casually pointed a finger.

“Thanks!” Yang said, lifting her hand off of the money and grabbing Weiss’s arm. “Come on, Ms. Schnee. We’ve got to go!”

Weiss yelped in surprise as Yang yanked her away. Yang quickly weaved her way through the tables in the direction the bartender had indicated.

“Where are we going now?” Weiss demanded.

“We’re leaving out the back so the White Fang catch us,” Yang said. She finally spotted the back door and made a beeline for it.

“Don’t you mean, ‘So the White Fang don’t catch us’?” Weiss asked.

Yang pushed the door open. She rushed out into the alleyway only to find five White Fang members in full uniform blocking both sides. Three were on one end and two were on the other.

“Nope,” Yang said, popping the p.

One of the White Fang in the group of three stepped forward. He was the only one not wearing a hood, although he still had the symbolic grimm mask. His hair was short, spiked, and a luminous shade of silver. A wolf’s tail poked out from underneath his coat. His hand was resting on a gun holstered on his hip. It was either a compact shotgun or a very large pistol.

A shiver of panic went down Yang’s spine, but she repressed it. Although the wolf-faunus wore the same mask, he was not the monster with the sword. She would not be afraid of him.

“You know, I was just telling me mates a joke,” the wolf-faunus said in a native Menagerian accent. “It starts off something like, ‘A Schnee walks into a bar…’.”

“It doesn’t sound particularly funny,” Weiss said, inching her way back to the door. Before she got there, it opened and the bouncer and his two buddies stepped out.

“Oh, it’s right hilarious,” the wolf-faunus said. “Unless you’re the Schnee, or her idiot, loudmouthed friend that is.”

Yang said, “I’d kind of like to hear the rest of the joke.”

“I don’t think there’s any need for that, Yang,” Weiss said, conveying with her tone just how displeased she was. “We’ll just be on our way.”

“Can’t let you do that, love,” the wolf-faunus said. “Besides, the punchline’s to die for.”

Weiss put on her best face of smug superiority and said, “You’re obviously not from around here. Wearing those uniform openly on the streets of Atlas is going to get you arrested very quickly. You’re not going to get away with this.”

Yang rolled her eyes in amusement. She knew that Weiss’s haughty tone would not impress the White Fang.

“Haven’t you heard, love? It’s a whole new world out there! Black is white! Up is down! And you’d be surprised what we’ve already gotten away with.” The wolf-faunus drew his gun which turned out to be an oversized pistol. “Get ‘em,” he said.

“About time,” Yang muttered. She activated Ember Celica, and Weiss drew Myrtenaster. The two of them locked eyes for just a moment.

“We are going to have words about this,” Weiss threatened. Yang just grinned.

Without another word between them, Yang and Weiss simultaneously launched themselves in opposite directions. Weiss glided smoothly on a glyph toward the two faunus at the back of the alley while Yang blasted herself toward the three at the front.

Yang’s first punch sent out a spray of shot at one of the hooded faunus’ feet. The pellets bounced off his aura, but the force of the blast knocked his legs out from under him. Before he hit the ground, Yang swung around and hit him with an uppercut that launched him into the air.

Repositioning herself with a spin, Yang punched the other hooded faunus three times to disorient him. Then she grabbed his head, yanked it down, and smashed her knee into it. He went down instantly in a heap. At the same time, the faunus Yang had sent skyward finally came falling back down to the ground. Neither one of them got up.

The wolf-faunus, looking very alarmed that his comrades had been dispatched so quickly, fired off a few shots. On a whim, Yang batted them aside with her artificial hand. Aura or not, She’d probably go through gloves really fast if she kept using tactics like that, but seeing the look on her opponent’s face was completely worth it.

The wolf-faunus twirled his gun and it unfolded into the shape of a one-handed war hammer.

“Hey, that’s pretty cool. But my friend’s got one that’s way bigger,” Yang said mockingly.

Meanwhile on the other side of the alley, Weiss was engaged in a two-on-one duel. Both of her opponents were wielding swords. Unfortunately for them, Weiss was matching each of their strikes with effortless parries. She was quickly driving them back.

Weiss, not in the mood to prolong the fight, flicked Myrtenaster’s cylinder over to the cyan Dust compartment. She struck hard, breaking the guard of both faunus and then plunged her rapier into the ground. A mass of ice sprung into being, trapping her opponents’ legs.

Weiss took a step back and switched Myrtenaster to yellow Dust.  She thrust the blade forward and lightning leapt from it, striking both of the faunus. They cried out in pain and then slumped over.

Yang heard the crackle of energy from behind her. Weiss must have finished her fight already. As much fun as Yang was having, she knew it was time to wrap things up.

The wolf-faunus swung his war hammer wildly. Yang considered taking a hit just so she could feel the rush of her semblance, but she decided against it. Weiss was mad enough with her as it was. She blocked the next blow and then countered with several of her own. On the final strike she spun around, leaving herself with her back to her opponent. He teetered unsteadily. Without even looking back, Yang hit him square in the face with the back of her hand. He collapsed to the ground.

Yang looked down the alley and saw that the bouncer and his friends were still standing by the door. They were frozen with terror at the one-sided slaughter they had just witnessed. Yang took a few menacing steps forward, put her hands on her hips, and gave them an out-for-blood grin.

The three men wisely chose to retreat back into the bar.

“Pff. Pansies,” Yang said. She wouldn’t be surprised if some of them needed to change their pants.

“If you’re quite done trying to get us killed, I have a few things to say to you!” Weiss said. Her voice was as shrill as Yang had ever heard it.

“Yeah? What’s that?” Yang asked.

“Look out!” Weiss said, pointing behind Yang.

Yang turned quickly and saw the wolf-faunus back on his feet and charging at her. She dropped into a fighting stance again and said, “Oh! You want some more!?”

Suddenly, there was a blur behind the wolf-faunus and a thick piece of metal collided with is head. He stopped in his tracks.

Yang was instantly hit with intense déjà vu. She’d been in this situation before. It was a lifetime ago in the Emerald Forest. “Blake?” she whispered, her voice wavering.

All of Yang’s confidence fled. Her chest tightened in something akin to panic. She couldn’t see Blake again, at least not right now. That would mean acknowledging the scars on her heart that she was desperately trying to ignore. She stood paralyzed by the fear that she was about to come face-to-face with her old partner and also by the fear that she wasn’t.

The wolf-faunus toppled to the ground. Behind him was Ruby with Crescent Rose in her hands.

“Are you alright? I…” Ruby stopped mid sentence when she saw who it was standing in front of her. “Yang? What are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s much more fun than I anticipated writing Yang and Weiss interacting. I may have to put together a Freezerburn fic in the future.
> 
> I actually don’t agree with Yang’s decision to attack the bouncer in this chapter, but it’s in keeping with her character. Remember when she assaulted Junior in the Yellow Trailer with basically no provocation? Same kind of thing. You’d better be careful, Yang. You can’t solve all of life’s problems by punching them in the face. Uh…not that that’s foreshadowing or anything…. Probably.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	6. Crimson as Blood

Yang couldn’t believe her eyes. There Ruby was, safe and whole as if nothing had happened. She was even dressed in her usual corset and hood. Her only deference to the weather was a long, red scarf.

“Ruby!” Yang shouted happily.

“Yang!” Ruby shouted back. She folded up her scythe and the two ran for each other, all giggles and smiles.

“You got two arms!” Ruby said, sounding surprised and happy.

“You bet I do!” Yang said, flexing. Then she cooed, “Ooh, come here baby sister!” She gathered up Ruby in a big hug and lifted her off the ground.

“Ack!” Ruby exclaimed, squirming in Yang’s grip. “Put me down! Put me down!”

“I’m so happy to see you!” Yang said. She set Ruby on the ground and turned to Weiss. “Told you my plan was brilliant.”

“Humpf,” Weiss said, crossing her arms. She was trying to look indignant, but she couldn’t quite keep a smile off her face.

“Weiss? I didn’t even see you there!” Ruby said.

“It must run in the family,” Weiss said. “It’s very nice to see you again.”

Ruby ran over to Weiss superhumanly fast, leaving a billow of rose petals in her wake. She latched onto her old partner. “I can’t believe you’re here too!”

Yang laughed. It was good to see that Ruby’s child-like exuberance was still intact.

Eventually, Weiss managed to pry Ruby off herself. She asked, “What are you doing here? We didn’t expect to find you back in this alley.”

“Oh, well I heard the fight from the street,” Ruby said. “I just thought someone was in trouble. I didn’t even know it was you guys.”

“That’s my sister! Always being the hero,” Yang said proudly.

Ruby asked, “So what are you guys doing here?”

“Looking for you, silly,” Yang said. “I heard from Uncle Qrow you’d come here.”

Weiss chimed in, “More specifically, she heard that you’d come alone. Why would you do something so dangerous?”

“We couldn’t find any sign of Cinder in Haven, but we know she went there and we’re pretty sure she hasn’t left,” Ruby explained. “When we heard about the White Fang in Atlas we wanted to check it out, but we didn’t want to give up looking for Cinder either. Janue and I decided we should split up.”

“That doesn’t explain why you came all by yourself,” Weiss said.

“Well, Jaune wanted to keep looking for Cinder because…because of Pyrrha. And Nora didn’t want to go anywhere without Ren,” Ruby said. “Besides, if Cinder does show up in Haven, we thought it be better to have more people there to stop her.”

“I supposed that does make sense,” Weiss said. “But you knew I was here in Atlas. Why didn’t you contact me for help?”

“Oh! Well, that is…uh.” Ruby looked away and tapped her foot on the ground in an embarrassed fashion. “I was going to, but…but I heard you had your own team now and a new partner and….”

“And what?” Weiss asked, sounding hurt. “You just assumed I wouldn’t want to help you out?”

“I guess?” Ruby said reluctantly.

“Ruby Rose, you complete dolt!” Weiss said. “Why would you even think that?”

“I’m sorry, I just…” Ruby stammered. “With everything that’s happened….”

Yang said. “Well, what’s important is that we’re all here now. We can go after the White Fang together!”

“You really want to help me find the White Fang?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah!” Yang said. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I thought after…you know…” Ruby said.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m fine,” Yang said, waving her hand dismissively.

Weiss snorted. “That’s debatable.”

“What do you mean by that?” Yang asked sharply.

“I’ve been very concerned about your behavior,” Weiss said. “Quite frankly, you’ve been acting careless and self-destructive. Just look at what happened tonight.”

“Yeah, tonight we found Ruby,” Yang said.

“Yes, we did. But to do that, you put us in a position to be ambushed by the White Fang,” Weiss said.

“You're worried about that? These guys were scrubs,” Yang said, gesturing at the unconscious White Fang that littered the alley.

“Something you didn’t know until after they had us cornered,” Weiss pointed out. “What if they hadn’t been?”

“We handled it. We’re fine,” Yang said.

“But what if we hadn’t?” Weiss asked.

“It doesn’t matter. We did!” Yang said. She glared at Weiss and the two of them locked eyes in a contest of wills.

“So…uh…” Ruby said hesitantly. “If the both of you are here, where is Blake? Has anyone seen her?”

“No, we haven’t,” Yang said a little more forcefully than she’d intended.

“Oh…okay,” Ruby said. “So…now what?”

“Now, we worry about stopping the White Fang,” Yang said.

Weiss sighed, acquiescing for the moment. She turned to Ruby and asked, “Have you discovered anything about what the White Fang are doing in Atlas?”

“Not really,” Ruby admitted. “I heard there was supposed to be some kind of big, super-secret meeting soon, but I can’t figure out where or when.”

Yang said, “It’s probably in an abandoned warehouse. That’s where stuff like that usually happens.”

Weiss said, “I suppose that is where criminal-types tend to congregate. But that doesn’t exactly help. Atlas is a big place. There are a lot of warehouses.”

Ruby said, “Maybe one of the guys you fought tonight knows something about it.”

Yang pointed at the wolf-faunus. “If any of them know, it’ll be him.”

“Of course!” Ruby exclaimed. “The one that looks different is always the most important!”

Weiss said, “That literally makes no sense.”

“Just trust me,” Yang said. She stepped over the wolf-faunus and slapped him a few times on the cheek. “Wakey, wakey sunshine!” She said with faux sweetness.

The wolf-faunus groaned. His head lolled from side to side. Yang grabbed his jacket with her left hand and hauled him into the air.

The wolf-faunus yelped in surprise. Yang slammed him up against the wall and held him there with his feet off the ground. She ripped his grimm mask off of him and squeezed it until the ceramic shattered. Then she slowly opened her fingers one at a time and let the broken shards fall to the ground.

“Do I have your attention?” Yang asked, threateningly.

The wolf-faunus nodded. His eyes were full of fear, but they still held a glimmer of resolve.

“We heard there’s going to be a big White Fang get-together,” Yang said. “Me and my friends want to know when and where.”

The wolf-faunus glanced a Weiss for just a second. He said, “I’m not telling a Schnee nothing.”

“You’re not talking to a Schnee,” Yang said. She pulled the wolf-faunus away from the wall only to forcefully slam him back against it. “You’re talking to me.”

The wolf-faunus winced from the impact, but he said, “You might as well be a Schnee, love. You’re all a bunch of faunus-hating bigots!”

“Don’t think you know me!” Yang said. “I don’t hate the faunus, just the White Fang.”

“That’s one and the same thing!” the wolf-faunus said. “I’ve been in the White Fang a long time. I was there when we tried doing things the nice way. Humans wouldn’t stand for that though. You attacked us first. You forced us to get violent. What did we ever do to you?”

“I’ll show you exactly what the White Fang did to me!” Yang shouted. She grabbed her glove with her teeth and pulled her prosthetic hand free. She held it up for the wolf-faunus to see. “This is what you did! This is why I hate you!”

“And you deserve so much worse!” The wolf-faunus spat out.

Yang’s eyes instantly turned red. She curled her hand into a fist and smashed it into the wall scant millimeters from the wolf-faunus’ face. Broken chips of brick and mortar went flying. The wolf-faunus cried out in fear, but Yang wasn’t satisfied. She clamped her cybernetic hand over his head and began to squeeze hard.

The wolf-faunus wriggled helplessly in Yang’s iron grip. A pained scream rose in his throat as Yang really applied the pressure. It was the most satisfying sound she’d heard in a long time.

Ruby cried out, “Yang! What are you doing?!”

The fear in Ruby’s voice made Yang stop. Her grip on the wolf-faunus’ head loosened. She’d really been ready to turn his head in to pulp. The realization unnerved her and blunted her anger enough that she could think rationally again.

Yang let out a long breath. Then she grabbed the wolf-faunus’ chin and forced him to look her in the eye. “I got this little souvenir trying to save a faunus from the White Fang. So don’t try to be all high and mighty with me,” she said with icy calm. “Now if the next words out of your mouth aren’t when and where the meeting is, I am going to do something very, very unpleasant.”

“It’s tomorrow!” The wolf-faunus squeaked out. “Tomorrow in the warehouse on Waren Street!”

“Thank you,” Yang said. She dropped the wolf-faunus. He landed in a heap on the ground. A swift and sudden kick to the head from Yang rendered him unconscious again.

Yang took a few steps away from Weiss and Ruby. Even with her back to them, she could feel their eyes boring into her.

“Weiss, call the cops,” Yang said. “Let them know there’s some trash here for them to pick up.”

Weiss looked at Yang long and hard before she finally pulled out her scroll and said, “Right.”

Ruby walked slowly over to Yang until she was standing side-by-side with her. She asked, “Are you really alright, Sis? You were scaring me there.”

“I’m fine,” Yang said. “Really.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Yang opened up the throttle on her borrowed motorcycle as she rode back to the Schnee mansion alone. Weiss had elected to call for a chauffeur rather than take another terrifying ride with Yang. She’d added that it would be best for someone to stay behind until the police showed up to collect the White Fang anyway. Ruby had decided to stick with Weiss and hitch a ride back with her.

Yang was taking a very long, very indirect route back. A bike ride usually calmed her down, and right now she felt like she needed a lot of calming. The wolf-faunus had agitated her far more than she would care to admit. It wasn’t because of anything he had said or done, but simply because she really did genuinely hate him. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about it, but she knew that deep in her gut was a burning hatred for the White Fang and everyone in it. It was a bitter feeling and one that Yang was wholly unfamiliar with. Sure, there were plenty of people she didn’t like, but to actually, truly hate someone was new for her.

Yang glanced down at her right hand. She hadn’t bothered to put her glove back on. Her prosthetic was naked for the world to see. Looking at it made her angry all over again. It made her think of Blake. She hadn’t really realized just how hard she’d been trying to not think about Blake, but now that both Ruby and Weiss were back, it would be impossible not to. Team RWBY without Blake was like a jigsaw puzzle with a single piece missing; you didn’t see the picture that the puzzle made, just what wasn’t there.

The thing that got to Yang the most, however, was that she didn’t know how she even felt about Blake anymore. Did she hate her? Did she love her? Thinking about it just spun her head around in circles until she was ready to punch something.

Yang turned the motorcycle in the direction of the Schnee mansion. The ride wasn’t calming her down at all, and Ruby would probably be upset if she wasn’t there by the time she got back.

A few minutes later, Yang pulled into the mansion’s massive garage. She parked the bike back where she’d found it and carefully re-covered it with the tarp.

Yang left the garage. She figured Ruby and Weiss would be coming in through the front door, so she headed to the grand foyer. When she got there, she pulled out her glove and slipped it back onto her cybernetic hand. She didn’t feel comfortable with her mechanical limb exposed.

Yang saw the lights of a car pulling up. She pushed any lingering thoughts about Blake or the White Fang out of her head. Now wasn’t the time for them. Her bitterness had almost ruined her reunion with her sister, and she wanted this to be a happy occasion.

Weiss walked in the front door followed by a wide-eyed Ruby. “Wow!” Ruby said. “This place is huge!”

“Just wait until you see the kitchen,” Yang called out. “There’s a pastry chef on staff.”

“Really?” Ruby’s face lit up.

Weiss said, “I’ll be sure to tell her to bake plenty of strawberry cake.”

“Oh Weiss! You’re the best partner ever!” Ruby declared.

“Just contact me the next time you need help, and we’ll call it even,” Weiss said.

“Deal!” Ruby said. She turned to Yang and took on what she probably thought was a serious tone. “Now, my dear sister, we need to talk about how you used Weiss as bait.”

“Why does everyone say that like it was a bad thing?” Yang asked.

“Because it was a bad thing!” Ruby said.

Weiss interjected, “I’m glad someone agrees with me.”

“Of course she agrees with you,” Yang said. “You promised her baked goods.”

“If that’s what it takes to get someone to see reason, I’ll have to hire more pastry chefs,” Weiss said. “I’ll go tell the staff to prepare a room for you, Ruby. I’m sure you’d like an opportunity to speak with your sister alone. Maybe you can talk some sense into her.”

Weiss took her leave and vanished into one of the numerous hallways that branched off of the foyer.

“So…how’s Dad?” Ruby asked.

“He’s okay,” Yang said. “He’s really worried about you. We should probably write him a letter to let him know that we’re both alright.”

“We totally should,” Ruby said.

“How are Ren and Nora and Jaune doing?” Yang asked.

“Ren and Nora are fine. They have each other. Jaune is…coping,” Ruby said.

“So are you really going to try to talk some sense into me?” Yang asked.

“Nope. I know better than that,” Ruby said. “But Weiss is really worried about you. And I guess I am too.”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Yang insisted.

“Alright. Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Ruby said.

“Just like that?” Yang asked, surprised.

“Just like that. I believe you,” Ruby said. “And if you decide later that there’s something you can’t handle on your own, me and Weiss will be there for you.”

“Ah, you’re the best little sister ever,” Yang said. She grabbed Ruby in another hug. Ruby didn’t squirm or make a fuss this time; she just hugged Yang back.

The sisters stayed in their embrace for almost a full minute before, out of the blue, Ruby said, “I want to see it.”

“You want to see what?” Yang asked, breaking off the hug. She didn’t quite like the glint in Ruby’s eye.

“I want to see your robot arm! I bet it’s so cool!” Ruby said. She zipped over to Yang’s side and started pawing at her sleeve.

Yang slipped away from Ruby. “Hey! You can’t just ask a girl to show you her arm like that!” she said like she’d been scandalized. “You’ve got to work your way up to that!”

“Come on, Yang!” Ruby whined. She started talking a million miles a minute. “How does it work? Did they give you the specs? Can I take it apart sometime? Oh, is it also a gun? It should also be a gun! Can I put a gun in it?”

“Gah!” Yang said. She started running and playfully shouted, “Weiss! Help! Save me from my sister!”

“Oh no no! You’re not getting away from me!” Ruby said. Rose petals scattered everywhere as she chased after Yang.

The hollow foyer of the Schnee mansion was suddenly filled with laughter and giggles as the two sisters played their impromptu game, warming the space with a sense of joy that it had long lacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t have a lot to say about this chapter that wouldn’t constitute a spoiler. So I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave it at that.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	7. Shadow and Light

Waiting was not something that Yang was very good at. It was just so boring. She absolutely hated it.  In retrospect, it would’ve been a good idea to get more specific information out of the wolf-fauns about the White Fang’s big, secret meeting. “Tomorrow” covered a lot of hours, and Waren Street turned out to be several miles long. Fortunately, all of its warehouses were in one spot.

Today was the day the meeting was supposed to happen. Yang, Weiss, and Ruby were currently holed up on a rooftop that offered a good view of all of Waren Street’s warehouses. They’d arrived there just before noon at Weiss’s insistence, despite the fact that Yang and Ruby had argued that the White Fang weren’t very likely to show up until after dark.

A freezing wind was blowing, and there wasn’t much shelter on the roof. Weiss was bundled up from head to toe in a thick winter coat and other cold weather accouterments. Somehow she still managed to look fashionable.

Ruby was in the same outfit she’d worn yesterday with the addition of a red coat that Weiss had given her. Weiss had claimed that the coat was just something that had been taking up space in her wardrobe. Yang had very sarcastically agreed that it was completely believable that Weiss had just so happened to have a coat in Ruby’s size and color conveniently lying around.

Yang was back in her usual tan jacket, yellow crop top, and black short shorts. She’d taken advantage of Weiss’s personal tailor—Yang wasn’t sure why she’d been surprised that Weiss had one—to have the right sleeve of her jacket lengthened. It and her leather glove kept her artificial arm completely covered.

The sun was finally starting to set, and there was still no sign of the White Fang. Yang was going out of her mind just sitting still. She drummed her finger impatiently. She would’ve been even more annoyed, but she was pleasantly surprised to discover that she’d mastered her cybernetic hand enough to drum her fingers.

“We really didn’t need to show up so early,” Yang complained.

“There was no way for us to know that,” Weiss said. “This meeting is our best chance to catch the White Fang. We couldn’t afford to miss it.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be in school today?” Yang asked, mostly to mess with Weiss. “What about your new team? Don’t they need their leader?”

“This is more important,” Weiss said. “And I already contacted Hazelle. She was more than happy to take over for me.”

A series of musical beeps came from where Ruby was sitting cross-legged.

“Ruby Rose!” Weiss said. “Are you playing a game on your new scroll?”

“But I’m bored, Weiss!” Ruby whined. “And Yang’s right, nothing’s happening.”

“We’re supposed to be on the lookout for the White Fang,” Weiss scolded. “How can we do that when you’re goofing off?”

Yang said, “You’re the one who bought that scroll for her.”

“Yes, and I’m starting to regret that decision,” Weiss said.

“You know,” Yang said. “If you keep showering my sister with gifts, people are going to get the wrong idea.”

“I am not showering her with gifts,” Weiss said defensively.

“Uh-huh,” Yang said. “The jacket, the scroll….”

“I’m being practical,” Weiss insisted. “It’s cold up here, and not all of us can dress like it’s summertime.”

Yang smirked at the jealousy in Weiss’s voice. She asked, “And what about the scroll?”

“We need a way to stay in communication with each other in case we get separated,” Weiss said.

“Right,” Yang said. “That’s why you bought her the most expensive scroll you could find.”

“There is nothing wrong with having nice things,” Weiss said.

Ruby chimed in, “Ah, Yang’s just mad that my scroll’s cooler than hers now.”

Yang stuck out her tongue at Ruby. Weiss rolled her eyes.

“Hey,” Ruby said. “What did you mean that people will get the wrong idea, Yang? The wrong idea about what?”

“That’s…that’s not important!” Weiss said a little too quickly.

Yang laughed at the blush coloring Weiss’s cheeks. She said, “Well you see, Sis—”

Weiss threw her hand over Yang’s mouth. She said, “All of this is distracting us! We should be watching for the White Fang.”

“Ah, fine,” Ruby said. She closed her scroll and put it away.

The trio waited another few hours. The sun slipped below the horizon. Street lights flickered to life, and the broken moon began its nightly journey across the sky.

Yang was getting ready to declare the whole day wasted when Ruby shouted, “I see them!”

“Shh! They’ll hear you,” Weiss said.

Ruby clamped her hands over her mouth. “Oops, sorry.”

Yang peered into the distance. “I don’t see anything,” she said.

“Right there.” Ruby pointed.

“I see them too,” Weiss said.

Yang squinted her eyes and looked closely where Ruby had pointed. She could just barely make out figures moving in the darkness. More of them kept appearing, one or two at a time. They were all converging on a warehouse.

“It’s the White Fang alright,” Ruby said.

“They’re even in uniform,” Weiss said. “Unbelievable.”

The slow procession of White Fang kept going for quite a while. Yang was surprised by how many of them there were. It was hard to get an exact count, but whatever was going on, it was obviously not a small operation.

Eventually, the trickle of White Fang stopped. Four of them appeared back outside and climbed up to the roof of the warehouse.

“Sentries,” Weiss said. “We should get out of sight before they see us.”

“Right!” Ruby said, “Let’s get a closer look while we’re at it.”

Ruby leapt from the roof and landed on the ground below. Weiss and Yang followed her. They all quickly ran until they were peeking around the corner of the building nearest the warehouse. There were guards standing at the warehouse’s entrance. They weren’t in uniform, probably so they didn’t advertise the fact that the White Fang were there.

“Alright. Let’s bust some heads,” Yang said, activating her gauntlet.

“Wait, Yang!” Weiss hissed. “We can’t just charge in there.”

“I really don’t need another lecture from you about being reckless,” Yang said.

“That isn’t what this is about,” Weiss said. “We’re here to discover what the White Fang are up to.”

“Weiss is right,” Ruby said. “We need to be sneaky and figure out if they’re working for Cinder.”

“Alright. So what’s the plan?” Yang asked, crossing her arms. She’d been really eager to get some more payback on the White Fang, but unfortunately, Ruby was right.

“I saw a skylight on the roof,” Ruby said. “We can probably listen in from there.”

“What about the sentries up there?” Weiss asked.

Ruby looked up at the roof of the building they were hiding behind. It was a good twenty or thirty feet up. A smirk crossed Ruby’s lips. She said, “I can handle them. Yang, can you get me up there?”

“No problem,” Yang said. She held out her arm.

Ruby leapt onto Yang’s arm. Yang spun around and tossed Ruby straight up in the air like she weighed nothing. Ruby landed on the roof above. She pulled out Crescent Rose, jumped over the gap to the warehouse, and vanished in a poof of rose petals.

A few muffled sounds drifted down from above to where Yang and Weiss waited. One of the guards on the ground glanced up for a second, but he didn’t seem to realize that his compatriots were under attack.

Less than a minute later Ruby peeked back out from the edge of the warehouse’s roof and waved to Yang and Weiss.

“Need a boost?” Yang asked Weiss.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Weiss said. A series of white glyphs suddenly appeared in the air. Weiss jumped from one to another and landed on the roof above. Then, with the assistance of another glyph, she crossed over to the warehouse.

Yang stepped back and took a running start. She jumped as high as she could without using Ember Celica and managed to catch the ledge of the roof. She pulled herself up, sprinted in the direction of the warehouse, and sent herself sailing through the air. She landed next to Ruby and Weiss on top of the warehouse and tucked into a roll to bleed off her momentum.

“Over there,” Ruby whispered. She led Yang and Weiss past the knocked out sentries to the skylight.

Yang pried the skylight open an inch so that they could all hear what was happening inside the warehouse. Below there were at least four or five dozen White Fang milling about. They all seemed to be waiting for something. Apparently, the meeting hadn’t started yet.

Yang noted that there was no sign of the monster with the sword. She was ashamed at how much relief she felt. She shouldn’t be afraid of him; she should be itching for some revenge.

“Isn’t that the guy you fought on the train, Weiss?” Ruby asked, pointing.

Yang and Weiss followed Ruby’s finger. At the front of the room a makeshift stage had been put together. An extremely tall man was leaning against the wall at the back of the stage. He was not wearing a hood, but he had a custom grimm mask that covered his entire face.

“Yes, he’s a lieutenant of some capacity,” Weiss said. “Be careful if you have to fight him. He’s extremely dangerous.”

Yang kept searching the room below her, hoping and fearing that the monster would show himself. Then she saw something that made her eyes go red.

There was a faunus standing at the back of the group. He was in uniform and completely indistinguishable from the rest, save for the yellow bracelet around his wrist. It was the missing half of Ember Celica.

Yang’s lips curled into a sneer. That bracelet was hers! The blasted thief had probably found it during the battle at Beacon and taken it off of her severed arm like some kind of sick prize. The thought of it sent Yang boiling over with rage.

Without a second thought, Yang opened the skylight wider. She was going to take back what belonged to her. She barely even heard Ruby’s and Weiss’s alarmed whispers behind her as she dropped into the warehouse below.

Yang landed silently behind the thief. It was very unfortunate for him that he was standing at the back. All Yang had to do was grab him by the throat and squeeze until he passed out. He deserved so much worse. Yang thought about giving him what he really had coming, but she wasn’t quite enraged enough to risk alerting his comrades.

Yang crept up very slowly. Her heart was thumping in anticipation. Her fingers itched to feel the thief squirming helplessly in her grasp. She slowly raised her hands. They inched closer and closer to the thief’s neck.

Just as Yang was about to pounce, the thief somehow sensed her impending attack. Lighting fast, he spun, drew a sword, and struck. On reflex, Yang brought her gauntlet up and blocked just in time.

The clang of metal on metal reverberated loudly off the walls of the warehouse. Everything went perfectly still. Time seemed to pause.

The thief wasn’t wearing a mask, and she wasn’t a man like Yang had assumed. Yang found herself looking into amber eyes that were caught somewhere between surprise, fear, and regret. She found herself face-to-face with Blake.

Yang felt weak in the knees. The world seemed to spin around her. “Blake?” Yang said, completely stupefied.

“Blake!?” a booming voice shouted. Yang snapped out of her stupor and saw that every single White Fang in the warehouse was looking directly at her and Blake.

“That’s the traitor!” The lieutenant shouted in the same booming voice. “Get her! Adam has plans for her! Kill the human!”

Yang brought her fists up. She had to admit that fifty plus White Fang were a bit much for her to take on by herself, but she knew she had backup.

Right on cue, Ruby and Weiss dropped down from the skylight. Even before they landed, shots from Crescent Rose and Dust-powered blasts from Myrtenaster ripped into the massed White Fang.

Ruby and Weiss landed side-by-side with Yang.

“Let’s do this!” Yang shouted.

The White Fang crashed down on Team RWBY like waves on a beach. Yang fought with all her might. There was no shortage of targets. Every step she took another White Fang met her fist. Ruby whirled her scythe around so fast it was like a tornado of deadly steel. Weiss was burning through so much Dust it was a wonder she hadn’t depleted her supply already.

Yang tried to keep an eye on Blake, but it was futile. Blake had already vanished into the horde of faunus who were all dressed the same as her.

“There’s too many!” Weiss shouted. “We need to retreat!”

“Right!” Ruby said. “Freezerburn!”

Team RWBY had spent so much time practicing their team moves that everything happened on instinct. Yang leapt into the air. Weiss coated the ground with ice. Then Yang landed fist first and fired a shot.

A plume of obscuring mist filled the inside of the warehouse. Weiss, Yang, and Ruby ran for the exit. They got outside just in time to see Blake delivering a knockout blow to the last of the guards who had been stationed at the entrance. At some point, Blake’s hood had been knocked off her head. She was still wearing her bow beneath it.

Yang and Blake locked eyes. Without a single word between them Yang understood that Blake was about to run. If Yang had been angry at the thief who’d stolen her gauntlet, it paled in comparison to the pure, unadulterated rage she felt toward her old partner who was about to flee without a word of explanation.

“Don’t,” Yang said in a dangerous tone. She knew it wouldn’t do any good.

Blake took off in a dead sprint.

Yang was about to follow when a strange, tingling sensation washed up and over her. She looked down and saw Weiss’s time dilation glyph at her feet.

“Catch her,” Weiss said.

“Ruby!” Yang shouted, holding out her hand.

Ruby understood what Yang was asking. She took Yang’s hand and used her semblance to propel them both after Blake at superhuman speeds.

Just before Ruby’s speed ran out, she jumped up, put her feet on Yang’s back, and fired off a shot behind them with Crescent Rose to give Yang one last boot. Yang flew through the air and hit the ground running. She chased after Blake like her life depended on it. The buildings around her whizzed by in a blur.

Blake took a sharp left turn and then ran straight up the side of a wall. Yang followed. Normally running up a vertical surface wasn’t something she could quite pull off, but Weiss’s glyph made it easy.

Blake bounded from rooftop to rooftop with Yang in hot pursuit. Yang started to lose ground; the effects of Weiss’s glyph were rapidly fading. Blake started pulling away from Yang until Yang’s own semblance, fueled by pure emotion, kicked in.

Blake glanced over her shoulder and saw Yang gaining on her. Fear flooded Blake’s face. She looked like Cinder herself was at her heels. She tried to run faster, but it wasn’t fast enough. Yang got closer and closer.

When the next gap between rooftops came, Blake summoned a clone. One Blake made the jump to the next rooftop; the other dropped down to the alley below.

Yang knew how Blake thought. She knew the real Blake was most likely the one who’d jumped down out of sight.  But then again, she knew that Blake would know that she knew that. Yang trusted her hunch and jumped to the next roof. When the Blake that she was chasing didn’t disappear, she knew she’d made the right choice.

Yang was tantalizingly close to Blake now. She just needed to move a little faster. Just then, Blake summoned another clone. She and her clone turned in opposite directions from one another.

Yang knew this was it. Either she would catch Blake right now or she wouldn’t. She leapt after the Blake that had turned right and fired a blast from her gauntlet to propel herself even faster. She collided with Blake, who remained solid, and the two of them tumbled across the rooftop in a tangle of limbs.

Yang and Blake landed in a heap together. Blake rolled away and scrambled to her feet. She split from another clone, but Yang lunged with all her might and just managed to snag the real Blake’s ankle.

Blake fell to the roof face-first. She rolled over, but Yang pounced on top of her and pinned her down with her weight. Blake raised her hands to shield herself.

Yang sat there, breathing heavily from exertion. Her face was flush, her eyes were blazing red, and her hair glowed with the brilliance of a sun. She looked like a demon come to burn Remnant to ash.

A full minute past. Yang didn’t move. She didn’t know what to do. Blake was there, right beneath her and she didn’t know what to do. Disparate emotions fought each other inside of Yang until she thought she was going to burst open. Her cybernetic hand clenched into a fist. She slowly brought it up until it was in position to strike.

Blake looked fearful at first. Then resignation crossed her face. Her shoulders relaxed and her arms fell limply to her sides.

Yang was absolutely bewildered. Blake was just going to sit there and take it. She wasn’t going to defend herself at all. It just pissed Yang off all the more. She cocked her fist back, really ready to throw a punch this time. But there Blake was, vulnerable.

Yang’s vision went blurry as tears welled in her eyes. Her fist slowly lowered. The glow of her hair subsided. There Blake was.

Yang couldn’t hold back anymore. She collapsed on top of Blake, a sobbing mess. “Why did you run away?” she demanded. Her question was barely coherent through her crying.

“I’m sorry,” Blake said softly. “I’m so sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised you guys Blake, and there she is. Strap yourselves in. Things are going to get emotional around here. Actually, I guess they already have. Never mind!
> 
> I’m amused that it took Weiss plus Ruby plus some luck for Yang to catch Blake. She’s slippery like that.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	8. Dark as Night

Yang and Blake were sitting side-by-side on the edge of the rooftop they’d ended up on. Their feet were dangling off the side. Neither one of them dared look at the other, and neither one of them dared speak. The tension in the air was palpable.

Yang was screaming inside her head. After all these months, Blake was sitting right next to her, and she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but words failed to come. There was too much to say, too much to ask. She didn’t even know where to begin. Blake might as well have been on the other side of the world.

Blake, for her part, was the epitome of silence. She said nothing, and even her breathing hardly made a sound. Blake had earned a reputation back at Beacon for being inscrutable. Yang had never really understood it. Sure, her partner didn’t really say much most of the time, but Yang had never had trouble understanding what Blake was thinking. Right now, however, Blake was a complete enigma to her.

Eventually, the silence became too much for Yang to bear. She had to say something, and right now there was only one question that really mattered. She asked Blake, “Why did you run away?”

Yang saw Blake’s hand clench. Blake took in a deep breath and let it out. She said with a quivering voice, “Because it was all my fault.”

Yang slowly turned toward Blake. She couldn’t believe what Blake had just said. “How was it your fault?” she asked. “You didn’t do anything. That monster did.”

“His name is Adam,” Blake said, still not looking at Yang. “I thought he was a good man once. He attacked you because of me.”

“He attacked me because I attacked him,” Yang said. “Because he was hurting you.”

“He did that to draw you out,” Blake said. “He wanted to kill you so he could watch me suffer. And he almost did. Because of me.”

“It wasn’t because of you! I—” Yang started.

“You don’t understand,” Blake interrupted. “It’s his semblance. Every time he blocks an attack, he can store the energy in his sword. That’s how he…how he did what he did with just one stroke. And it was because of me. I fought him knowing it was making him stronger. I thought I had to. I thought I was going to be the one who’d suffer the consequences but….” Blake shook her head. “It might have well been me who attacked you.”

“Look me in the eye,” Yang said sternly.

Reluctantly Blake turned to face Yang. Her eyes were overflowing with pain. Trails of tears stained her cheeks.

“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything,” Yang said. “It was him. It was always him.”

“If I hadn’t—” Blake said.

“I don’t care,” Yang said, and this time it was true.

“But how can you—” Blake started again.

“I don’t care,” Yang repeated. “It was worth it.”

“How could it have possibly been worth it?!” Blake asked.

“Because you’re still here. Because…” Yang cut herself off. Could she really say it? Perhaps the better question was, could she really not say it? Yang swallowed her fears and took a blind leap. “Because I’m in love with you.”

Blake lowered her eyes. She didn’t seem to react to Yang’s confession at all. Yang began to fret. She said, “Did you hear me? I’m in love with you!”

Blake still didn’t say anything. Yang’s chest felt tight. Why wasn’t Blake saying anything?

Blake finally looked back up at Yang. Her gaze was steady and her face was calm. She said, “I already knew that.”

Yang was dumbstruck. Her thoughts scattered every which way, and she sputtered, “You…but…how?”

“You’re not a very subtle person, Yang,” Blake said. “It was plain to see.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?!” Yang asked. “You didn’t have to worry about letting me down gently! I’m a big girl. I could’ve taken it. If you’re not into girls, I’d understand.”

“No, it wasn’t anything like that,” Blake said.

“Wait, so you are into girls?” Yang asked.

Blake nodded yes.

“Then why?” Yang asked.

“You deserve someone better than me. There are a lot of bad things in my past,” Blake said.  She quietly added, “And a lot of bad people.”

“I never cared about your past,” Yang said.

“I know,” Blake said. “But it was more than that. Even if I wasn’t a former member of the White Fang, a lot of people don’t look kindly upon relationships between a human and a faunus.”

“I wouldn’t have cared!” Yang said. “Forget what everyone else thinks!”

“It would’ve gotten to you eventually. You can only take nasty glares and hateful comments for so long until it really starts to get under your skin. Believe me, I know,” Blake said. “You’re such an accepting person, Yang. I didn’t want you to learn how to hate because of me.”

That statement hit Yang right in her heart. A queasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Despite Blake’s intentions, she had learned to hate. The monster, Adam, had taught her that if nothing else. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Blake, although she suspected Blake already knew.

Blake continued, “I should have said something. I should have just told you that we could never be together. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If I kept quiet, I could still pretend that it might happen someday.”

“It still could happen,” Yang said hopefully.

Blake looked up into the night sky. A tiny smile played across her face. “I chose you as my partner, you know,” she said, seemingly changing the subject.

“You did?” Yang asked.

“I wasn’t going to leave something that important to chance,” Blake said. “Can you imagine if I’d been partnered with Cardin?”

“That would have sucked,” Yang said. “How’d you find me in the Emerald Forest so quickly?”

“It wasn’t hard.” Blake smirked. “Like I said, you’re not very subtle.”

Yang shrugged. “You got me there. But why me?”

“Do you remember the first thing you said to me?” Blake asked.

“Uh, well…I think it was hello,” Yang said.

“That’s right. You were trying to introduce me to Ruby,” Blake said. She turned back to Yang and looked her right in the eyes. “Then you said I was a lost cause.”

“Uh…sorry?” Yang said sheepishly. She honestly didn’t remember that.

“No, you were right,” Blake said. “You were just trying to be friendly and I completely dismissed you.”

“I still shouldn’t have said it,” Yang said.

“Tact has never been one of your strong suits,” Blake said. “But that’s the thing. I could hear it in your voice. You weren’t judging me. You were just calling it like you saw it. I knew I would always know where I stood with you.”

“That was it, huh?” Yang asked.

“That was enough,” Blake said. “Although, I guess your little display when you took down that poor ursa was another reason I thought you’d make a good partner.”

“Well, I can’t blame you,” Yang said. “I am pretty badass.”

“Actually that wasn’t it,” Blake said. “I figured you’d make a good distraction if I ever needed one someday.”

Yang tried not to laugh and ended up snorting instead. It wasn’t nearly as indignant-sounding as she’d hoped.

Blake continued, “When it came out what I was and who I’d been, it didn’t faze you at all. I’d at least expected curious glances or tiptoeing questions. But they never came.”

“I didn’t have to ask any questions,” Yang said. “You were the same person you’d always been.”

“You can’t know how amazing it is that you felt that way,” Blake said. “Then when I almost gave myself a nervous breakdown obsessing over Torchwick, you were the one who came to save me.”

“Ruby and Weiss were just as worried about you,” Yang said.

“But you were the one who did something about it,” Blake said. “You cared about me, not because you had to or because you were a fellow faunus. You just did.”

Blake turned away. A blush colored her cheeks. She said quietly, “I couldn’t help but fall in love with you.”

Yang felt her heart stop. A weight she hadn’t known was there lifted off her shoulders. She hadn’t realized how desperately she’d needed to hear those words.

Then Blake said, “I just never understood why you fell in love with me.”

Yang was floored. How could Blake not understand? She exclaimed, “Why shouldn’t I have fallen in love with you?! You’re smart. You’re good in a fight. You’re hot, and…and I just do okay? I don’t need a reason!”

Yang felt woefully inadequate. Was that really the best she could come up with? She wished she was half as articulate as Blake. Quickly, she added, “And I was wrong about you. You’re not a lost cause.”

Blake smiled. “Thank you,” she said.

Yang let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Too much had happened too quickly tonight. She felt like she was in danger of being emotionally overwhelmed. She focused on the fact that Blake had said that she loved her. Nothing else was important.

Yang opened her eyes again. When she did, she saw that the smile had left Blake’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Yang asked, concerned.

“Can I see it?” Blake asked. Her voice was very somber.

Yang knew Blake was talking about her arm. She suddenly felt very self-conscious, like she never had before. Yang was not a modest person. She knew she was attractive by most people’s standards. She was proud of that fact, and she wasn’t shy about showing off her body. Had Blake asked her to strip naked a few months ago, she would have done so without hesitation. But now, she was ashamed of what Blake might think of her arm.

Yang felt herself nodding yes. No matter what her feelings were, she could never deny Blake so simple a request.

Blake pushed back Yang’s right sleeve, exposing her prosthetic. Blake let out a soulful gasp. It was a quiet little sound, barely even audible. But the weight of it hit Yang hard.

Blake slowly rolled back Yang’s sleeve. She loosened Yang’s glove and pulled it off. Yang felt naked and exposed. She was so nervous that she was actually sweating a little. But if this was what Blake needed, it was what Blake was going to get.

Blake cradled yang’s cybernetic hand in her arms. She held it gently like it might break at the slightest touch. She brought the hand up and pressed it to her cheek. Her eyes closed, and a single tear trailed out.

Yang could feel Blake’s skin, at least as much as her artificial hand would allow. It was pure torture, like giving the smallest morsel of food to someone who was starving. Yang wanted to touch Blake, really touch her. She brought her left hand up and cupped Blake’s other cheek. It was soft and warm. The simple feeling of it was enough to make Yang euphoric.

Blake opened her eyes. A light was shining in them through the sadness. She let Yang’s artificial hand drop.

Yang traced her fingertips down Blake’s cheek until they found her lips. Yang’s fingers lingered there. She felt Blake’s breath tickling them.

Yang didn’t even realize she was drifting closer and closer to Blake until their lips met and they kissed. She didn’t know who’d kissed who first, and it didn’t matter. Yang had imagined this moment so many times. Now that it was here, it was nothing like she’d expected. It was even better. She never wanted it to end.

A sudden high-pitched squeal brought Yang back to reality. Without breaking the kiss, she glanced in the sound’s direction. She saw Ruby and Weiss standing there. Ruby, who was the one doing the happy squealing, was bouncing up and down with joy. Weiss just had her hands on her hips.

Yang didn’t see the need to end the kiss just because there was an audience now, but Blake, who had also noticed they were no longer alone, did. She pulled away from Yang and quickly scooted back a few feet as if that would fool anyone. She blushed furiously.

Ruby cheered, “Ah yeah! Team RWBY is back together!”

“In more than one manner of speaking,” Weiss said. “That’s not quite what I meant when I told you to catch Blake. But I suppose it’s about time you two finally admitted your feelings for one another.”

“Wait. You knew too?!” Yang asked.

“Obviously,” Weiss said.

Ruby said, “You knew about this and you didn’t tell me!? I thought we were partners, Weiss! You’re supposed to tell me everything!”

“I didn’t think I needed to point it out,” Weiss said. “She’s your sister after all. I’m surprised you didn’t know.”

“Well I knew she was crushing on somebody, but she wouldn’t admit to it,” Ruby said. “What else don’t I know? Is there someone you’re crushing on, Weiss?”

“That’s…! This isn’t an appropriate time to talk about such things,” Weiss said.

“No way! You are crushing on someone!” Ruby said. “Tell me! Tell me! Who is it?”

“It’s no one!” Weiss said.

Ruby and Weiss started bickering. Yang looked at Blake and shrugged. She asked, “Is Team RWBY back together?”

“I guess it is,” Blake said.

“And what about us?” Yang asked.

“We’ll have to figure that out. But before anything else…” Blake unclasped the right half of Ember Celica from her wrist. In all the excitement, Yang had forgotten that it was even there. “Before I left Vale, I went back and found this. I…I didn’t want to leave without some reminder of you. It’s yours, if you want it back.”

Yang nodded. She reached out to take her bracelet, but Blake took her hand instead. Yang watched joyfully as Blake put Ember Celica back in its rightful place. Despite the dramatic changes Yang’s arm had undergone, it still fit perfectly.

Yang activated both of her gauntlets. She couldn’t help but smile. Blake was back. Ember Celica was back. She felt like she was almost whole again. All that was left was a healthy dose of revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may not think most of my predictions about Volume 4 will (or even should) come true, but I’m calling it right here and now: that is Adam’s semblance.
> 
> It always bugs me when I go back and watch Volume 1 that Yang called Blake a lost cause. It is, however, a very Yang thing to say in that moment. I really feel a lot better about it now that I’ve gotten the opportunity to explore what the characters feelings on the incident might be.
> 
> I was originally planning on having Yang’s new arm include a built-in shotgun. After all, this is the RWBY-verse where everything is also a gun. But then I realized that the symbolism of Blake returning Yang’s missing gauntlet to her was too good to pass up.
> 
> I still hope that Yang’s new arm in Volume 4 is also a gun though. A really, really big gun.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	9. Fear and Love

Yang was up early the next morning. She’d always been an early riser, and today she’s woken up even earlier than usual. With all the things that she still needed to say to Blake, she could hardly have been expected to stay in bed one second longer than strictly necessary.

Yang had gotten no time with Blake alone last night. Between everyone’s tearful reunion, Weiss lecturing Yang once again about charging headlong into danger, and informing the authorities about the White Fang’s meeting, it had been a long night.

Unfortunately, by the time the police had arrived at the warehouse there was hardly any evidence left that the White Fang had been there. Blake had stayed out of sight while the police were there. Her White Fang uniform would’ve raised too many questions. Yang had found herself worrying that Blake wouldn’t return once the police were gone. She knew it was stupid and silly. She trusted Blake, but she couldn’t help how she felt.

When Team RWBY had been ready to head back to the Schnee mansion, they’d encountered another problem. Blake’s uniform would’ve caused undue trouble with the Schnee mansion security staff. It might have even prompted a call to Weiss’s father. That was something no one had wanted.

After much debate about what to do, Weiss had come up with a simple solution: she’d given Blake her coat to cover her uniform up with.

By the time everyone had finally made it back to the mansion, it had been very late at night, or rather, very early in the morning. As much as Yang had needed to talk to Blake, all either of them had wanted to do at that point was fall into bed and get some sleep.

Yang had spent her morning so far pacing the length of the hallway in the guest wing of the Schnee mansion. It was a wonder she hadn’t worn a rut in the carpet. She paused in front of the door to Blake’s room for the tenth time in as many minutes. Unlike Yang, Blake was not a morning person. It was very unlikely that she was awake yet. Back at Beacon, she would often stumble out of bed as late as possible and shamble off to her morning routine. Yang had learned that conversation with Blake was all but impossible until after she’d had a shower, breakfast, and at least three cups of tea.

Yang turned to go pace the hallway again. Even if Blake was up, she would still be half-asleep. The things they needed to talk about would best be left until she was completely awake.

Yang made it ten steps before she changed her mind and turned around. She figured the sooner she got Blake out of bed, the sooner she would wake up, and the sooner they could talk. It was a good enough excuse for Yang. Besides, she felt like she’d explode if she didn’t at least see Blake again soon.

Yang lifted her hand to knock on the door only for it to open. Blake was on the other side, not looking groggy at all. She was already dressed for the day, wearing the outfit Yang knew her best in. It was great for Yang to see Blake again how she remembered her.

“Hello,” Blake said, not sounding surprised at all. She’d apparently known that Yang was there.

“Hiya! You’re up early,” Yang said with a big, happy smile on her face.

“I guess I am,” Blake said.

“Can I come in? So we can talk about…you know…things?” Yang asked.

Blake stepped aside and opened the door wider to let Yang in.

Yang walked into Blake’s room. The irony of a faunus staying as a guest in the Schnee mansion was not lost on yang. She imagined Weiss’s dad’s silly mustache bristling if he ever found out.

Blake asked, “What did you want to talk about?”

The smile on Blake’s face was tinged with just enough nervousness that Yang was certain Blake knew exactly what she wanted to talk about. Yang couldn’t help but chuckle. It was so typical of Blake to force Yang to drag it out of her. Fortunately, she was more than willing to play along.

“Well…” Yang drawled. “I found a motorcycle in papa Schnee’s garage. You want to go for a ride sometime? We can see the sights. Maybe get some dinner. I’m sure Weiss can suggest someplace with snooty waiters, romantic music, and candlelight.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Blake asked.

Yang was a bit disappointed that Blake sounded genuinely surprised. Nevertheless, she cheerfully said, “Well sure. That’s what you do with girls you like. Take them somewhere nice. Show them how awesome you are. Makes it a lot easier to seduce them.”

Blake snickered.

“What?” Yang asked. She was pretty sure she hadn’t said anything funny.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t see you as the seducing type,” Blake said, shaking her head.

“Oh is that a challenge?” Yang asked. In an instant, her entire demeanor changed. Her goofy, carefree air melted away. Her eyes took on a sensuous glint, and she sauntered slowly toward Blake, exaggerating the swaying of her hips. When she spoke again, it was in a soft, alluring voice that positively dripped with sex appeal. “You don’t know what you just got yourself into, Belladonna.”

Blake unconsciously took a few steps back as Yang continued to advance. She said, “I don’t think seduction works if your victim knows what you’re trying to do.”

“Ordinarily, you’d be right,” Yang said. She slowly back Blake up against the wall. Blake tried to scoot away, but Yang pressed her hands up against the wall, boxing Blake in. “But you’re forgetting one…little…thing.”

Blake swallowed hard. Her eyes flicker to Yang’s lips which were moving closer to her own. “W-what’s that?” Blake stammered.

Yang leaned in close and whispered, “You want to be seduced.”

Before Blake could answer, Yang kissed her. It was a light kiss, teasing Blake with just a hint of the sinful delights Yang’s lips could offer. Blake tried to deepen the kiss, but Yang pulled back, keeping the pressure constant. Only when Blake was leaning forward into her did she relent.

A probing tongue tickled Yang’s lips. She opened her mouth to let it in and returned the favor in kind. Yang’s and Blake’s arms wrapped around each other. They stood there entwined, the rest of the world lost to them.

It wasn’t until Yang was sure that Blake was completely out of breath that she let the kiss end. Blake’s face was flush and she was breathing heavily. Yang herself didn’t have enough air back in her lungs for words yet, so she gave Blake a smile that could light up the room.

Blake returned Yang’s smile with one of her own, but only for a moment. Suddenly, her face dimmed and she pulled out of Yang’s embrace.

Yang was befuddled. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Blake asked.

“How can you even ask me that?! Of course it’s what I want,” Yang said. “I’m pretty sure it’s what you want too. Unless you kiss everybody like that.”

Blake didn’t answer. Yang scowled. She asked, “Am I wrong?”

“No,” Blake said. “It is what I want.”

“Then what’s the problem?!” Yang asked.

“I don’t want you to get hurt again because of me!” Blake said.

Yang finally understood. Blake wasn’t over what had happened. If Yang was completely honest with herself, she wasn’t over it either. But those feelings were something she could sort out later.

Yang cupped Blake’s face with both of her hands and gently directed Blake’s gaze back to her. “Don’t try to run away again,” she said.

“I’m not trying to run,” Blake said.

“Yes you are,” Yang said. “You’re scared about what might happen. I get it. But you can’t let that stop you.”

“I’m not you, Yang,” Blake said.

“So what?” Yang said. “You don’t have to be me to do what’s right for yourself.”

Blake reached up and took Yang’s hands in her own. She slowly pulled them down and spent a minute just looking at them. She ran her thumbs across Yang’s palms. Yang’s prosthetic hand was back in its glove, but she knew that Blake could feel the difference. She could practically see the guilt in Blake’s eyes.

“I should have been there for you,” Blake said, her voice wavering. “Like Ruby and Weiss were. I should have been there to help you.”

“And I should have come looking for you,” Yang said. “We both made a lot of mistakes, but we’re here now. We can move on together.”

“It can’t be that easy,” Blake said.

“Sure it can,” Yang said. “Let me show you.” She leaned in and kissed Blake again. This kiss was soft and tender. Although it lacked the unbridled passion of the one they’d shared earlier, somehow, it was even better. Yang didn’t know if forgiveness could be conveyed through a kiss, but she was trying her hardest.

Yang broke the kiss. Tears were running down Blake’s cheeks, but she was smiling sweetly. Yang reached up and brushed the tears away. She put her hands on Blake’s shoulders and said, “So what do you say? You want to be my girlfriend?”

“Yes. I do,” Blake said.

Yang beamed from ear to ear. She took in the look of wonderment on Blake’s face for just a moment before she stepped back and put her hands on her hips. She said. “Well how do you like that?”

“How do I like what?” Blake asked, confused.

“Don’t think you have any secrets from me, Blakey,” Yang said. “Everyone else might think you’re cool and mysterious, but I always know what you’re thinking.”

“Alright, what am I thinking?” Blake asked.

“You’re thinking that you still don’t understand how I can love you,” Yang said.

Blake’s silence and embarrassed look was all the answer Yang needed.

“I know it wasn’t exactly poetry,” Yang said. “But I did mean what I said yesterday. I’m not sure what I can do to convince you.”

“Well…” Blake said, considering the matter. Her lips twitched into a tiny, mischievous grin. “You could elaborate on why you think I’m hot.”

Yang’s smile got even bigger. It hadn’t even been a minute and already she was reaping the benefits of having a girlfriend who understood her so well. Composing romantic prose with flowery metaphors was not really her thing. But talking unabashedly about the more delicious aspects of Blake’s body was something she could do all day long.

Yang made a show of raking her eyes up and down Blake’s form. She started slowly walking around her.

“I could talk about those juicy thighs,” Yang said. “Or I could mention that booty.” She stopped to admire the posterior in question. She had to resist the urge to squeeze it. She wasn’t sure how physical Blake was willing to get at this point, and she didn’t want to do anything to make her uncomfortable.

Yang circled back around to Blake’s front. She said, “But to really do it justice, I think I’m going to have to see the whole thing.”

The wide-eyed look and luminescent blush on Blake’s face made Yang realize what she’d just implied. “Wait, I mean…I didn’t…not that I don’t…I…” she stammered.

Blake chuckled and her blush subsided just a little. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you flustered.”

“Ha. Ha,” Yang said. “What I meant was, I’ve never seen your ears.”

The expression of shame that crossed Blake’s face made Yang regret bringing it up. Not too long ago, Yang wouldn’t have understood at all. But now she knew all too well what it was like to have a part of your body that you were ashamed of. It was a horrible feeling, and it gutted Yang to know that Blake had been dealing with it her whole life.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Yang said. “You’re right about me not having any tact. Just…forget about it.”

“No, it’s alright,” Blake said. “Most people treat me differently once they’ve seen them, even if they don’t hate faunus. Even if they are a faunus. I should know by now that I don’t have to worry about that with you.”

“Of course you don’t,” Yang said. “But it’s okay. You can wait until….”

Yang trailed off as Blake reached up for her bow. She slowly pulled the ends apart until the knot came undone and the ribbon fell away.

Yang gaped at Blake and the perfect pair of feline ears perched atop her head. She’d imagined many times what they might look like, but she was completely unprepared for the raw, undiluted adorableness that assaulted her. The amount of trust that Blake taking off her bow represented wasn’t lost on Yang either.

“You are so cute,” Yang whispered. Her fingers itched to test if Blake’s ears were really as soft as they looked, but she knew for a fact that Blake would not appreciate that. It was an unfortunate fact that human tormentors often manhandled faunus by their animal-like appendages.

“I’m glad you think so,” Blake said with nervous shyness.

Yang mentally slapped herself out of the trance Blake’s ears had placed on her. Making Blake more confident about her body was definitely going on her to-do list, and she planned on having a lot of fun doing it. She said, “So, I think I was in the middle of telling you how hot you are.”

Blake’s ears swiveled, tracking some sound that Yang couldn’t hear. She said, “Hold that thought.”

Blake walked to the door. She deftly tied her ears back up in her bow with impressive speed and then opened the door.

Ruby, who had been leaning up against the other side, came tumbling into the room. She let out a surprised squeak.

“Ruby!” Yang said. “Were you eavesdropping on us?”

“Uh, well…sort of?” Ruby said, standing up and brushing herself off.

Blake called out into the hallway, “You can come out too, Weiss.”

Weiss casually strolled into the room like she’d done nothing wrong.

“Weiss, you too?!” Yang said.

Weiss said, “Well you can hardly blame us for being curious.”

“I can’t believe it!” Yang said overdramatically. “Betrayed by my own sister and teammate!” For good measure, she put the back of her hand to her forehead.

“Hardly,” Weiss said, sounding unimpressed with Yang’s theatrics.

Ruby said, “We didn’t mean to spy on you…at least not at first. But, well…we wanted to make sure things were okay between you and Blake.”

Yang put her arm around Blake and pulled her into a side hug. She said, “I’d say things are okay between us. What do you say, partner?”

“Yes, things are okay,” Blake said. She slipped out of Yang’s hug. Yang mentally added getting Blake used to public displays of affection to her growing to-do list. It was quickly becoming the best list ever.

“So, Blake,” Ruby said. “Weiss and me were talking about what we should do about the White Fang next. Do you know anything that could help?”

Blake nodded. “I managed to find out were a few of the safe houses they’re using are. That would be a good place to start.”

“Excellent,” Weiss said. “We can discuss the matter in the dining room. I instructed the chef to prepare a formal breakfast. I thought it was an appropriate way to celebrate Team RWBY reuniting.”

Ruby asked, “Is the cook going to make more of those little cakes we had yesterday?”

“They’re called scones, Ruby,” Weiss said. “And yes. I told her to bake extra.”

“Yay!” Ruby cheered.

Weiss turned to leave, she said, “Breakfast is being served in fifteen minutes. Don’t be late.”

“Do we have to wait that long, Weiss? I’m hungry,” Ruby whined as she followed Weiss out of the room.

Blake looked at Yang and said, “I guess we should go get breakfast.”

“Right behind you, girlfriend,” Yang said. She admired the flush of red that colored Blake’s cheeks. If being called “girlfriend” was all it took to make Blake blush, Yang suspected she was going to be doing it a lot in the days to come.

Yang couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-watched all three Volumes of RWBY and the only people who have seen Blake’s ears (or have been implied to have seen Blake’s ears) on screen are Ruby, Torchwick, Sun, Neo, and some nameless assorted White Fang. I know an opportunity when I see one, so this chapter was my take on Blake showing Yang her ears for the first time.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	10. Shattered

Three days came and went. Each night Team RWBY investigated another one of the safe houses Blake had uncovered. Each night they came up empty. Either nothing was there or the place had already been abandoned.

Yang was getting rather impatient with the whole ordeal; not in the least because she hadn’t had time to take Blake out on a proper date yet. It seemed a little backward to be officially in a relationship without having gone on a date, but then again, they’d also fallen in love first too. Maybe doing things in the proper order just wasn’t for them.

The few private moments that Yang and Blake had managed to steal away were filled with passionate kisses and quiet conversation. They would talk about everything and nothing, although they were still dancing around the real issues. The guilt that Blake harbored and the hatred toward the White Fang that seethed in Yang weren’t going away, but Yang didn’t care enough to broach the subject. She was sure those things would work themselves out eventually. For her part, she figured beating Adam to a bloody pulp would get everything out of her system. She couldn’t wait. The sooner they actually found a lead, the better.

Team RWBY’s target tonight was a distribution center right next door to the Atlas airdocks. Unlike the warehouse on Waren Street, there was nothing about it that screamed “evil lair”. It was a huge, modern facility that was anything but abandoned. Weiss had theorized that the White Fang were paying someone off to make use of it.

Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were lying low on the far side of the fence that ran around the perimeter of the massive building. Their plan tonight was the same as every night. First, they’d stake the place out and see if they could spot any suspicious activity. Then they’d move inside. So far tonight had been another bust.

Yang glanced over at Blake. The weather was still cold, and Blake was wearing a greatcoat that was tailored to her feminine proportions. She was also wearing a big, puffy knit hat that not only kept her head warm but covered up her cat ears. Having finally seen those ears in person, Yang was very disappointed that the world forced Blake to keep them hidden. How could anyone hate something so adorable?

Blake noticed that Yang was staring at her. She asked, “What is it?”

“Just thinking about how cute you are,” Yang said. She was rewarded with a blush.

Weiss sighed. “I should have known you two were going to be one of those couples.”

“You’re just jealous,” Yang teased.

“I am not,” Weiss said.

Ruby said, “Shh! Shh! I think something’s happening!”

Everyone focused their attention on the distribution center. A man, dressed in an ordinary hat and coat, was strolling along the side of the building. He didn’t look like he was a faunus, but like Blake, he could’ve very easily been hiding his faunus heritage underneath his winter clothing.

Yang said, “That’s probably just someone who works here.”

Blake said, “Maybe, but he’s definitely up to something.”

“What makes you say that?” Yang asked. As far as she could tell the man wasn’t doing anything suspicious.

“It’s the way he’s carrying himself,” Blake said. “He’s trying too hard to act casual.”

Yang didn’t really see what Blake was talking about, but she wasn’t going to question her judgment on the subject of subterfuge.

The man turned the corner of the building and vanished from sight.

Weiss said, “We should follow him.”

Everyone scrambled as quickly and quietly as they could to get to a better vantage point. It took them quite a while since they had to move along the outside of the fence. By the time they spotted the man again, he’d been joined by a second man dressed equally unremarkably. They were both standing in front of a small side door that led into the distribution center.

Although Team RWBY was too far away to make out what the two men were saying, it looked like they were debating something. Their wildly gesturing hands expressed their disagreement quite clearly. All the while, the second man kept stealing glances over his shoulder to check and see if someone was watching them.

Weiss whispered, “What do you think we should do?”

Ruby whispered, “Let’s keep watching. We don’t know if either of them are White Fang or not.”

Eventually, the two men seemed to come to an agreement. The second man slipped something to the other, took one last look around, then started walking away. The first man unlocked the side door and let himself in.

“Alright,” Ruby whispered. “Let’s go.”

Everybody bounded over the fence and dashed for the distribution center. When they reached the door, Ruby grabbed the knob, but it refused to turn. Apparently the man had locked the door behind him.

Yang asked, “Want me to bash it down?”

“We shouldn’t,” Weiss said.

“Why not?” Yang asked.

“You mean besides the fact that we’d be vandalizing someone place of business?” Weiss asked.

“Uh, yeah?” Yang said sheepishly. She hadn’t really thought about that.

“Right now we have the element of surprise,” Weiss said. “If the White Fang really are here, we can catch them in the act of whatever nefarious deed they’re perpetrating.”

Ruby asked, “Does anyone know how to pick a lock?”

Blake said, “Not that lock, but I saw some loading docks for semi-trucks on the north side of the building. I can get one of those open without breaking anything.”

“Alright! Let’s go!” Ruby said.

Team RWBY dashed along the side of the distribution center and turned the next corner. Just like Blake had said, the entire north wall of the building was one big, long row of loading bays for semi-trucks. Everyone crowded around the nearest one.

Blake drew her sword off her back, sheath and all. She said, “Someone try to lift up the door a little. It will make it easier to slip Gambol Shroud underneath it.”

The bottom of the docking bay was over five feet off the ground. Ruby and Weiss both looked at Yang. Yang chuckled. “I got it,” she said, barely resisting making a crack about Ruby and Weiss’s stature.

Yang got as good as a grip as she could on the bottom lip of the door and lifted. Everyone was surprised when the door rose a foot into the air. It wasn’t locked or even latched at all.

“Humph,” Weiss said. “No wonder the White Fang are using this place. Their security seems lax.”

“Well, everyone inside,” Ruby said.

Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake all took their turns pulling themselves up and crawling into the distribution center.

“Wow,” Yang said when she’d had a moment to look around. The building had looked huge from the outside, but somehow it looked even bigger on the inside. None of the lights were on, but the moonlight coming in through the windows illuminated the massive space well enough. Team RWBY was standing at the ends of dozens of long conveyor belts. Behind the conveyors were rows upon rows of tall metal shelves that stretched all the way up to the ceiling.

Weiss asked, “Why are all the lights off? I would think there would be a few on at least.”

Ruby said, “Faunus see really well in the dark. Maybe that’s a sign that the White Fang really are here.”

Blake said, “Look at this.” She was pointing at the door they had come in from. The reason it hadn’t been locked was because its latch had been cut clean through.

Ruby said, “Looks like someone else broke in too.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Weiss said. “If the White Fang were given the key to get inside, why did they need to break in?”

Yang said, “Maybe that guy we saw wasn’t White Fang?”

Weiss said, “I don’t like this. Something isn’t right here.”

Ruby said, “We need to find out what’s happening. This place will take forever to search, so let’s split up and look around. But don’t try to fight anyone on your own. If you find anything or get into trouble, call on your scroll. If we don’t hear from anyone, we all meet back here in twenty minutes.”

Everyone nodded in unison. Ruby and Weiss each selected a different direction and started their searches. Blake lingered behind with Yang, however. She said, “Weiss is right. Something isn’t right here.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Yang said.

“I know, just…please be careful,” Blake said.

“Hey. I’ll be alright.” Yang gave Blake a confident wink. “Promise.”

Blake smiled. “Alright. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”

Yang picked one of the conveyer belts and started following it. It didn’t take long for her to lose sight of Blake. Now that she was on her own, she had to admit that the atmosphere of this place was kind of creepy. The moonlight created a lot of long shadows, and Yang didn’t have the benefit of a faunus’ superior eyesight.

Yang walked along the side of the conveyor. It was unnaturally quiet. The only sound Yang could hear was her own footsteps. The stillness of everything made the massive space feel haunted. There should have been workers bustling about and the hum of machinery. Instead, there was nothing.

The conveyer belt led Yang to the massive shelving units. They towered over her and were spaced out wide enough to let forklifts comfortably navigate between them. It made Yang feel rather small. She started walking down the nearest row.

The hair on the back of Yang’s neck stood on end. She couldn’t help but feel that she was being watched. Although the shelves were crammed full of boxes of every description, there was just enough space in between them that Yang could catch a glimpse of the other side. More than once she thought she saw movement coming from behind the boxes, but when she went to take a peek and check it out, there was nothing there.

Yang kept walking. A shiver went down her spine. She swore she could feel someone’s eyes on her. She spun around, expecting to see someone behind her, but she was completely alone. She scowled. It wasn’t like her to be jumping at shadows.

Yang knew she was supposed to be sneaking about, but this was just getting stupid. She shouted, “I know you’re out there, whoever you are! Come on out, you coward!”

No one showed themselves. Yang tapped her foot impatiently. Eventually, she convinced herself that she was barking at nothing and started walking again.

Yang came to the end of the row. She had to be near the back of the facility by now. Stacks and stacks of large, metal shipping containers were piled up everywhere. Apparently this was the receiving area.

Yang started working her way around the shipping containers. She moved very slowly. Every corner was a blind one and she didn’t like it one bit. Her jaw clenched involuntarily. She still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

The faint whisper of a footstep sounded behind Yang. She whipped around and brought her fists up. Nobody was there. Yang waited and listened but heard only silence. She wasn’t sure now if the footstep she’d heard had been real or just something she’d imagined.

Yang turned back around and kept going. She tried to shake off her nervousness, but every instinct in her body told her that someone with bad intentions was close by. Yang rounded another container and then another. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve sworn that someone had deliberately set up the shipping containers like a maze. A tiny part of her wanted to go back. But she refused to show up at the rendezvous early with her tail between her legs like some scared little kid.

Yang turned one more corner and stopped dead in her tracks. Two people were sprawled out on the ground. One of them was a White Fang member in full uniform. The other was the man in ordinary clothing Team RWBY had seen outside. Neither one of them were moving. Yang couldn’t tell if they were dead or just unconscious.

Yang activated her gauntlets. The sound they made when they unfolded was painfully loud. It echoed off the metal containers like the crash of thunder. Yang stood stock still. Her eyes wildly swept around her field of view, but she didn’t turn her head. She barely even breathed. She didn’t do anything that might call attention to herself.

Then Yang heard it. A footstep, soft but clearly real, sounded behind her. There was another and then another.  Someone was walking toward her and they weren’t in any kind of rush. Yang’s hands clenched into fists. Her muscles coiled, ready to unleash their power.

The footsteps got closer at an aggravatingly deliberate pace, but Yang waited. She waited and listened for the right moment to strike.

The footsteps were close behind Yang now. Her muscles twitched in anticipation. Suddenly, Yang whirled around and fired a blast from her gauntlet. The shot whizzed through the air and exploded not ten feet away. The smoke from the impact quickly dissipated, revealing a delicate-looking, pink parasol.

“You…” Yang growled angrily. Standing in front of her was Roman Torchwick’s little minion. If Yang remembered correctly, Roman had called her Neo.

Neo closed her parasol and rested it on her shoulder. She was dressed exactly how Yang remembered her, in a jacket, corset, and boots with buttons running up the sides. There was an evil grin on her face, and her eyes shifted colors as she blinked.

Yang had the distinct impression that she was being mocked. That was fine. It would make defeating Neo all the more satisfying. If she wasn’t going to get her revenge on Adam tonight, beating this smug little fiend to within an inch of her life would do. Maybe Yang wouldn’t even stop at an inch.

Neo just stood there, apparently unwilling to make the first move. Yang was all too happy to make it for her. She launched herself at Neo using Ember Celica and struck. Neo casually deflected Yang’s punches with her parasol. When Yang kicked high, Neo ducked. When Yang swept her foot, Neo leapt over it.

Yang felt her already considerable temper rising to new heights as Neo pushed another one of her blows aside with her parasol. Yang started punching harder. She knew she could snap Neo’s silly little umbrella like a twig. After all, she’d managed to punch Junior’s bazooka in half. All she needed to do was land one solid hit.

Yang kept up her attack, but trying to fight Neo was like trying to hold grains of rice in her hand. The harder she held on, the more they slipped through her fingers. It wasn’t long until Yang was so frustrated that she was literally punching mad. Any coherent strategy she might’ve had degraded to a flurry of blind attacks.

Suddenly, Neo went on the offensive. She slipped under Yang’s fist and spun. The heel of her boot connected with the bridge of Yang’s nose.

Yang went cross-eyed from the unexpected impact and staggered back. When she could see straight again she saw that Neo was holding up her leg in the same position the kick had been delivered from. Neo slowly swept her leg around in the air and set it back down on the ground in a supreme display of balance and coordination.

The little show was obviously meant to piss Yang off even more than she already was, but it didn’t have the intended effect. Neo’s kick to Yang’s face had literally knocked some sense into her. A voice in Yang’s head, which sounded disturbingly like Weiss, was scolding her for falling into the same trap that had almost gotten her killed the last time she’d fought Neo.

The tactical part of Yang’s brain kicked into overdrive. She knew from last time that Neo was inhumanly precise. The little twerp knew just where to hit to inflict the most damage. On the flipside, she was too much of a lightweight to ever activate Yang’s semblance; she just didn’t hit hard enough. Those two factors added together made her extremely dangerous for Yang to fight.

Yang wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but she knew she couldn’t keep on going like she had been. The Weiss-sounding part of Yang’s brain helpfully suggested that she call for help. Her scroll was in her pocket, and with the press of any of the speed dial buttons, the rest of Team RWBY would come running. Yang flat-out rejected that idea. She could do this on her own. She had to do this on her own to prove to herself that she could. If she couldn’t defeat Neo, there was no way she’d ever be able to defeat Adam.

Neo tilted her head in curiosity. She was clearly surprised that Yang hadn’t immediately attacked her again. She lifted her hand and beckoned Yang to come at her.

Yang grinned. Neo was good, but Yang was on to her now. Whatever Neo did, she wouldn’t let herself get too pissed off to think again. She knew that alone wasn’t going to win the fight, but she’d always been good at thinking on her feet. She’d come up with something.

Yang advanced on Neo. When she got close, she fired off both barrels of her gauntlets in rapid succession. Neo whipped open her parasol to block them. While she was preoccupied, Yang tried to come around and attack her from the side. For Yang’s efforts, her fist met the air and her head was reintroduced to Neo’s boot.

Yang kept trying. She kept fighting. And above all she kept calm, if only just. She tried every trick she knew, but Neo was always able to dodge or deflect her blows. Neo’s counterattacks were adding up. Yang could feel herself slowly being worn down.

Inspiration suddenly struck Yang as Neo dodged another punch. In a roundabout way, Neo was the most predictable person she’d ever fought. The result of every attack Yang attempted would be a deflection or an evasion. There had to be a way to use that to her advantage. She just had to figure out how.

Before Yang could come up with anything, Neo’s parasol collided with her gut. Yang doubled over from the impact, but that was when she spied exactly what she was looking for. Behind Neo two of the large shipping containers came together, making a corner. If Yang could back Neo into that corner, she’d have no room to dodge. Neo couldn’t deflect everything Yang threw at her, and Yang suspected Neo did not take hits well. All it would take was one or two and the fight would be over.

Yang threw an uppercut as she recovered. Neo dodged of course, but in doing so she moved herself a few inches closer to the corner. Yang knew what to do now. She threw punch after punch, careful not to overexpose herself. If Neo got around her at this point, it would be all over. Neo’s counterattacks grew more frequent, but Yang endured them. There was no way she was going to go down now, not when she finally had a chance.

For the first time ever, the smug smile left Neo’s face. She’d apparently figured out what Yang was up to, but now it was too late. She didn’t have anywhere else to go but back toward the corner.

Neo thrust her parasol forward. At the same time there was a flash of light. Yang lost sight of Neo for just a moment. She dodged instinctively.

A sharp, stinging sensation erupted on Yang’s left cheek. Her hand reflexively rushed up to where she’d been hit. She felt something wet. When she pulled her hand back, her fingers had blood on them.

Yang saw a tiny blade extended from the tip of Neo’s parasol. Yang knew it wasn’t a good sign that it had actually been able to draw blood. Her aura must be nearly depleted. There was a hard look on Neo’s face. Clearly, she was done playing around.

The Weiss-sounding part of Yang’s brain helpfully reminded her that her scroll was still in her pocket and that help was still just moments away. Yang mentally told that part of herself to shut up. If Neo was resorting to using a hidden blade, it must be because she knew Yang was going to win. There was no way that Yang was going to cheat herself out of victory.

Yang threw herself back into the fight. The blade complicated things, but not enough to matter. It was only a few more feet to the corner.

Neo’s face took on a more and more worried expression. Her counterattacks were suddenly a lot more uncoordinated. Yang found she was able to evade them easily. She smiled to herself. It looked like all that dodging had finally worn Neo out.

Neo’s back hit a shipping container. Her eyes went white with fear. Yang threw everything she had at her. Neo deflected one punch, then another, and then another. But it was all wasted effort. Yang finally saw her opening. She launched her fist at Neo’s head. Ember Celica was poised to fire. Yang knew she had her. Neo knew it too. Yang savored the look on her face.

Yang’s fist connected. Ember Celica fired. And the illusion of Neo shattered into a thousand pieces.

Yang had a scant second to realize what had happened and how much trouble she was in. Before her fist had even finished following through with her punch, the real Neo’s parasol slammed into the base of Yang’s skull from behind.

Momentum carried Yang’s head forward where it smashed into the shipping container. It bounced off like a ping pong ball and into a kick from Neo. Yang went sideways and found herself face-down on the ground. Her head throbbed in pain. She tried to stand back up, but she was far too disoriented. She only managed to crawl along the ground.

Suddenly, the Blade on Neo’s parasol plunged into Yang’s back. A cry of pain ripped from Yang’s lips as the blade slipped between her ribs and lodged itself somewhere near her kidney.

Yang fought back a wave of panic. She didn’t understand. This wasn’t how this fight was supposed to go! This shouldn’t have been able to happen! There was no way she could let Neo win again!

Neo ripped her blade out of Yang’s back. A whole new wave of agony washed over Yang. But before she could even try to compose herself, a fist slammed down right where she’d been stabbed. The pain that followed was so intense that Yang almost came unglued. She felt the edges of unconsciousness brush up against her. But she couldn’t go down. She’d promised Blake that she’d be alright.

Through an act of sheer willpower, Yang got to her feet. She raised her fists in a pathetic imitation of a fighting stance. Her whole body felt like a raw nerve. The slightest movement brought excruciating pain. She could barely see straight, but she would keep fighting for Blake.

Yang took a step forward. Maybe Neo hit her. Maybe she didn’t. It didn’t really matter. Yang’s body simply couldn’t take anymore. Her legs buckled and the ground rushed up to meet her again.

There was only one last recourse for Yang. Her hand inched toward her pocket and managed to dislodge her scroll. It clattered noisily against the concrete floor.

Yang reached for her scroll. Her mechanical fingers trembled erratically. Even the minuscule amount of concentration it took for her to keep her prosthetic in line was beyond her at the moment.

The tips of Yang’s fingers touched her scroll, but before she could manage to get a solid grasp on it, Neo’s blade slammed down and impaled the screen. Sparks shot out from the scroll and the broken display faded and died.

Yang didn’t feel the kick that rendered her unconscious. She didn’t think about whether she was going to live or die. The only thought in her head before the world disappeared was a silent prayer that Blake would forgive her for breaking her promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t leave yet! I know you guys probably hate me for this chapter, but stick with me! There is a happy ending to be had. I promise!
> 
> Since this is a terrible cliffhanger to leave you guys on, I’m going to be posting the next chapter in two days’ time.
> 
> Now if any of you are still reading this, I want to say that I know from personal experience that even when you hit rock bottom, sometimes you still don’t learn your lesson. It’s very human to pretend that everything’s fine even when it’s obviously not. Old habits, especially bad ones, die very hard. The long and short of it is, some lesson you have to learn the hard way. And some lesson you have to learn the hard way twice.
> 
> I hesitate to say it this time, but like always, constructive criticism is welcome. Please feel free to yell at me with a review or comment.
> 
> If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	11. Mirrors and Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter is rated Mature. The Teen and Up version has been posted on FanFiction.net.

The first thing Yang was aware of was that she was not lying on a cold, hard cement floor like she’d expected, but a soft bed. Her eyes slowly opened. Expensive décor and fancy furnishings that she recognized surrounded her. She was in her guest room at the Schnee mansion.

Hushed voices were speaking. Yang heard Weiss say, “I knew something like this was going to happen. We’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”

Blake said, “I should have stayed with her. I knew something was wrong.”

Ruby said, “This wasn’t your fault. I was the one that said we should split up.”

“Stop it, both of you **,** ” Weiss said. “We’ll argue about who’s at fault later.”

Yang closed her eyes. Maybe if she pretended to still be asleep everyone would go away. There was no way she could face any of her teammates right now, especially not Blake. She couldn’t tell them that they’d been wrong to believe in her. It was so obvious to her now. She should have never left Patch. She was broken, and no prosthetic, no matter how advanced, would ever fix that.

Unfortunately, Ruby said, “I think she’s awake, guys.”

Yang knew there was no use pretending now that she’d been found out. She reluctantly opened her eyes and sat up. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were all standing around the bed she was in. Ruby’s face was filled with concern. Blake’s was filled with guilt. And Yang could practically see the “I told you so” that was sitting mercifully unvoiced on Weiss’s lips.

Ruby asked, “How are you feeling, Sis?”

Yang didn’t answer. She tossed off the covers and got out of bed. Her back was sore where Neo had stabbed her, but her aura had already healed most of the damage. Neo must have somehow missed all her vital organs. If Yang had been in a better frame of mind, she might have counted herself lucky.

There was a mirror at the far end of the bedroom, sitting on top of a dresser. Yang walked up to it. Whoever had put her in bed had removed a lot of her clothing. She was only wearing her crop top and shorts. She was covered in the last traces of faded bruises, and there was a thin red mark on her cheek where Neo had cut her. Her reflection stared back at her with a miserable look on its face.

Yang slumped forward and put her hands on the dresser. Her artificial arm was completely exposed. She wanted to believe that it was the reason she’d lost. If she’d had her real arm, she would’ve beaten Neo. That had to be true, didn’t it?

“Yang?” Ruby asked softly. “Can you tell us what happened? We found you alone.”

That answered one of Yang’s questions. She was alive because Neo had let her live. The little miscreant hadn’t even had the good grace to put Yang out of her misery.

“Yang, please say something,” Ruby begged.

Yang stayed silent. What was there to say?

Blake said, “Ruby, Weiss, can you give us some time alone?”

Weiss and Ruby looked at each other. Ruby clearly didn’t want to leave, but Weiss convinced her with a look. Weiss said, “We’ll be just down the hall if you need us.”

Yang heard the door to the room open and close. She didn’t know what Blake hoped to accomplish. She didn’t even know why she was bothering to try.

Blake’s arms wrapped around Yang from behind, and her head came to rest on Yang’s back. Yang expected her to say something, but she didn’t. The physical contact was soothing, and Yang didn’t want it to be. She knew she didn’t deserve it. She wanted to tell Blake to go, but her traitorous body was craving Blake’s touch too much for her to speak.

Yang knew what Blake was doing. Anything Blake might have said, Yang could have rebuffed or ignored. But she couldn’t resist Blake’s gentle, unyielding presence. She could feel how much Blake cared about her and how much she wanted to help.

Finally, Yang relented and said, “What good is this arm if it can’t fix everything?”

Yang felt Blake cringe at the mention of her arm, but she didn’t let go. She said, “It was good enough to give you back your life.”

“No. It wasn’t,” Yang said.

“Please tell me what happened,” Blake said.

“It was Neo,” Yang explained.

“You mean Torchwick’s henchwoman? What was she doing there?” Blake asked.

“I don’t know,” Yang said. “I don’t really care. She beat me. Bad.”

“I shouldn’t have let you go off on your own,” Blake whispered.

Yang slammed her hands down on the dresser. “Stop it!” she shouted. She spun around and grabbed Blake by the shoulders. “Stop blaming yourself for everything that happens to me! Adam wasn’t your fault! My arm wasn’t your fault! And Neo really wasn’t your fault!”

“This wasn’t like the other times!” Blake said. “I wasn’t hurt or distracted! I just wasn’t there for you!”

“You weren’t there because…because I didn’t want you there!” Yang said. “I didn’t call for help when I could have.”

“You didn’t!?” Blake exclaimed. “Yang, Neo beat you the last time you fought her!”

“I know that!” Yang shouted. “But she shouldn’t have been able to!”

“Why not?” Blake asked.

“Because…!” Yang faltered.  She knew for a fact that she should’ve been able to beat Neo, but when she tried to actually come up with a reason why, every one of them was ridiculous. A horrified expression slowly worked its way onto her face as a terrible truth reared its ugly head. Even after everything that had happened, deep down she’d really still believed that she was invincible. It was the most idiotic thing. Her right arm was proof enough that she wasn’t. She wasn’t the best there was. She could be hurt. And she’d completely refused to acknowledge it.

Yang let go of Blake. She slumped to the floor and whispered, “Weiss was right. Weiss was right about everything.”

“Yang…” Blake said.

“Just…go,” Yang said. “Leave me alone.”

Blake knelt down. She cupped Yang’s head in her hands and said, “I’m not going to run away again. I’m not going to leave you when you need me. You want me to stop feeling guilty for what happened? Well I want you to stop thinking you're worthless just because you lost a fight.”

“But…” Yang said.

Blake put a finger over Yang’s mouth to silence her and sat down in front of her. Blake reached for her bow and untied it, exposing her cat ears. She let the ribbon fall to the ground.

Blake said, “You said my ears didn’t change anything for you. I was still the same person to you, even if I was a faunus. Well you’re still the same person that I chose as my partner. You’re still the same person I fell in love with. I love you, Yang.”

“Blake…” Yang said. Tears started to fall from her eyes. This was all wrong. She was supposed to be the strong one. She was supposed to sooth Blake’s hurts, not the other way around. Yang didn’t know who she was anymore. There was only one thing she was certain of. “I love you too, Blake,” Yang said trembling.

Yang reached out for Blake. She needed her close like she’d never needed anything before. She was confused and afraid, but as long as Blake was there to be her anchor, she’d never truly be lost.

Blake took Yang into her arms and rocked her gently. Yang let herself cry into Blake’s shoulder. She’d never intentionally made herself vulnerable to anyone before. She’d always been the protector. She’d been the strong one when her mom died. She’d helped raise Ruby when her dad was too overcome with grief. But now she was the one who needed protecting. And in Blake’s arms, she felt warm and safe like she never had before.

When Yang had no more tears to cry, she finally let go of Blake. She reclined against the dresser, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She said, “I’ve been a complete idiot.”

“We’ve both done foolish things,” Blake said.

“I think I’ll win that competition,” Yang said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Blake said softly.

“What do you mean?” Yang asked.

Blake didn’t say anything.

“Blake…. Please tell me,” Yang said.

Blake stayed silent a moment longer before she asked, “Do you know why I came to Atlas?”

“You were going after the White Fang,” Yang said.

“I was going after Adam,” Blake clarified. “I knew you’d never be safe while both he and I were still alive. So I was going to fight him again.”

“But he would have killed you!” Yang said.

“I know,” Blake said. “But then he’d have no reason to come after you. It’s what I thought I had to do to keep you safe.”

“Blake!” Yang said. She reached out to touch Blake with her real hand.

Blake took Yang’s hand and kissed it. “Now I know how selfish I was being. Despite what I intended, I would’ve ended up hurting you even more.”

Yang thought about what Blake had said for several minutes. In spite of everything, she started laughing.

“Yang?” Blake asked.

“I’m sorry. It’s just…” Yang chuckled. “We’ve been doing it all wrong! I almost got myself killed thinking I was proving myself. You almost got yourself killed thinking you were keeping me safe. And how long did we both hide our feelings from each other? What’s it going to take for us to get this right?”

“I think we both know what’s really important now,” Blake said. “Whatever happens, we can face it together.”

“Yeah,” Yang said. “Together.”

Blake stood. She offered Yang a hand, which Yang readily took. Blake pulled Yang to her feet, and they found themselves eye-to-eye. Yang was captivated by Blake’s gaze. She’d never seen anyone look at her like Blake was now. The emotions in Blake’s eyes were indescribably beautiful. They filled Yang with a deep longing and an aching need like she’d never known.

“We should…uh…” Yang stammered. “We should probably tell Ruby and Weiss that I’m alright.”

Yang turned to the door, but Blake tugged on Yang’s hand to stop her.

Yang looked at Blake.

“Please stay,” Blake said. “I thought I’d lost you again tonight.”

Yang nodded. Blake snuggled up to her and kissed her softly. Yang could feel there was something different this time. There was desire, desperation, hunger, need, love, and a hundred other nameless emotions in Blake’s kiss. It was a heady cocktail, and Yang drank deeply of it.

Blake broke the kiss. “I…I need…” she gasped. She stopped to catch her breath, and then said, “I need to show you how much I love you. But I’ll understand if you aren’t ready.”

Yang knew what Blake meant. “I’ve wanted this for a very long time,” she said without any hesitation.

Blake smiled sweetly. “Do you trust me?”

Yang nodded yes.

Blake put an arm around Yang’s back and said, “Then lean back.”

Yang did as she was told only for Blake to literally sweep her off her feet and scoop her up into her arms. It was almost surreal for Yang. She’d always been the one to take charge in this kind of situation. This was completely new for her, and it was wonderful.

Blake carried Yang to the bed and set her down gently. She kicked off her boots and crawled up with Yang. Blake sat on her knees above Yang. Desire shined in her eyes as clear as day.

Blake undid the button on her vest and slipped it off. Yang reached up to help Blake remove her clothing, but Blake gently pushed her hands aside. She said, “Let me do the work tonight.”

Yang watched with awe as Blake removed one garment at a time. A fire started burning in Yang’s belly. What she’d dream of for so long was really happening.

Blake cast off the last of her clothing. Yang’s eyes drank in the sight. “You’re so beautiful,” she whispered.

Blake blushed. She reached out and brushed a few errant strand of hair out of Yang’s face. Then she leaned in and kissed her.

Blake’s lips didn’t linger long. They left a trail of kisses down Yang’s neck. Yang’s breathed heavily and her pulse quickened. Blake’s hands ran up Yang’s sides until they brushed up against her crop top.

“May I?” Blake asked.

Yang nodded. Blake’s fingers lifted Yang’s top up and over her head, freeing her breasts. Blake tossed the piece of cloth away. She took a moment to appreciate the view. There was a new hunger in her eyes that hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Magnificent,” she breathed.

Yang sucked in a breath as Blake’s hands teased her breasts, hefting their weight and testing their suppleness. The gentle touches fueled Yang’s arousal. She arched her back to deepen the contact, but Blake refused to be rushed.

Yang was just about to demand that Blake stop teasing her when a moist tongue snaked around her nipple. Yang let out a moan as Blake began to suckle in the most maddeningly pleasurable way.

Most of Yang’s past lovers had held a certain fascination with her breasts, but none of them had worshiped them with such reverence as Blake was doing now. Yang let out a cry of pleasure as Blake scraped her teeth along her nipple. Her hips bucked and she thrust her chest toward Blake’s gloriously talented mouth.

Blake let Yang’s nipple slip from her lips. Yang whimpered pathetically at the loss, but Blake’s hand took their place and her mouth attacked Yang’s other breast with equal fervor.

Yang’s arms wrapped around Blake. She felt Blake flinch. It took her a moment through the haze of her arousal, but she realized why. One of her arms was made of metal. It was hard and cold when it should have been soft and warm. Yang quickly let go of Blake with her prosthetic and shoved it underneath the pillow her head was resting on.

Yang tangled the fingers of her left hand in Blake’s hair. It felt so incredibly silky. Yang’s right hand tugged beneath her head. She desperately wanted two hands that she could hold Blake with. The loss of her arm had never felt so poignant, but the sting of the loss was washed away by a tide of love. Blake still wanted her, even as she was now, and that made everything okay.

Eventually, Blake’s mouth left Yang’s breasts, although her hands lingered. Her palms teased Yang’s sensitive nipples while her lips slowly worked their way down Yang’s well-defined abs. Blake stopped to explore every last nook and cranny.

Ever so slowly, Blake drew closer to Yang’s heated center. She dragged her fingernails lightly down Yang’s sides, causing Yang to shiver in anticipation. Blake’s fingers curled inside the edges of Yang’s shorts.

“Do you want me to keep going?” Blake asked.

“Yes!” Yang shouted, sounding needier than she’d meant to.

In one deft motion, Blake slid off Yang’s shorts and panties. She settled in between Yang’s legs and slowly nibbled her way up Yang’s inner thigh.

Yang squirmed. If Blake was trying to kill her with anticipation, she was doing a good job. It was blissful torture.

Blake’s fingers ran through wetted, blonde curls. Her eager tongue tasted the length of Yang’s nether lips and settled on the sensitive bud they enclosed.

Yang moaned loudly as Blake’s tongue lapped eagerly. She was already so aroused that she didn’t think she would last very long. Her left hand clenched the sheets and she writhed helplessly in beautiful agony.

Yang considered herself practiced in the ways of sex, but this time was unlike any she’d ever experience before. She realized the difference was that she loved Blake and Blake loved her. She’d had sex many times, but this was the first time anyone had ever made love to her.

More unabashed moans of pleasure came from Yang’s mouth as Blake brought her to the height of ecstasy. Her hips rocked in time with Blake’s tongue. It wasn’t long until Yang’s muscles clenched in anticipation. She held on as long as she could, not wanting the moment to end, but Blake was too good. Yang crashed over the edge with Blake’s name on her lips.

Yang let out a few gasping breaths as her climax faded. All her muscles went limp and she practically melted into the mattress. Everything that had troubled her soul, all the pain, all the anger, and all the feelings of betrayal lifted away from her. At least for the moment, she was able to let them all go. The emotional release completely eclipsed the physical one she’d just experienced.

Blake was right there, cuddling into Yang’s side. Her fingers gently stroked Yang’s hair. Tears started falling down Yang’s cheeks, but there was a big smile on her face.

“Are you alright?” Blake asked.

Yang rolled onto her side and buried her head in Blake’s bosom. “Yes, I am,” she said. “I love you so much, Blake.”

“I love you too, Yang,” Blake said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene is just about the exact opposite of what I always imagined Yang and Blake’s first time would be like. I guess that’s what Volume 3 did; it turned everything on its head.
> 
> After writing this chapter I can appreciate how useful aura is for storytelling purposes. If Yang didn’t have aura to help her heal, she’d be laid up for weeks at least with injuries like that.
> 
> Only one chapter left to go. Tune in next time for the finale! And in grand RWBY tradition, it’s going to be a double-length chapter! I didn't really plan it that way, but that's how it happened.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


	12. Whole

Even with the shades drawn, the bright morning sunlight slipped into Yang’s guest room at the Schnee mansion and chased away the gloom of night. Yang’s eyes fluttered open. She was lying on her side, tightly pressed into Blake’s back. It took her all of a second to decide that waking up next to Blake in bed was the best way to start the day. Both of them were still naked from the night before, and Yang took a moment to revel in the feeling of Blake’s bare skin next to hers.

Blake was still fast asleep. Yang knew it would be hours before Blake would awaken if she was left to her own devices. As tempting as it was for Yang to just stay in bed all morning cuddling with Blake, eventually Ruby and Weiss would come knocking. There were things Yang wanted to do before they did.

A mischievous smile snuck its way onto Yang’s lips. She brushed aside Blake’s tousled hair and started nibbling on a tempting earlobe. Blake mumbled something, but she didn’t wake. Yang started kissing her way down Blake’s neck. When she got to Blake’s shoulder she gently sunk her teeth in, leaving behind a love bite.

Blake moaned softly in her sleep, causing Yang to snicker. Blake’s cat ears twitched a few times and she started to stir.

When Blake’s eyes opened, Yang said, “Morning, Blakey!”

“Mmmgh,” Blake said, closing her eyes again.

“If you go back to sleep, I’m going to have to start tickling,” Yang said playfully. She traced her finger along Blake’s side.

“I’m awake,” Blake said halfheartedly. She rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes. “It sounds like you’re in a good mood this morning.”

“After last night, why shouldn’t I be?” Yang said. “I never would’ve guessed you were such a breast-fiend.”

“I am not,” Blake said, although she blushed lightly.

“Uh-huh,” Yang said, making it clear that she wasn’t buying it.

“You just happen to have particularly nice breasts,” Blake said.

“You bet I do!” Yang said proudly.

Blake rolled her eyes in a way that told Yang she was trying hard not to be amused. She said, “You’re so modest.”

“I can’t help it if it’s true,” Yang preened.

“Well I never knew your hair glowed during sex,” Blake said teasingly.

“It does?! No it doesn’t!” Yang said. Then she asked, “Does it?”

Blake nodded with a smirk.

“I guess it must’ve been really good sex then. Speaking of which…” Yang said. She trailed a finger down Blake’s arm. “I think I owe you for last night.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Blake said.

“Oh yeah?” Yang said. She sat up, threw a leg over Blake, and settled down into her lap.

Blake went wide-eyed, but that didn’t stop her from unabashedly staring at Yang in all her glory.

Yang leaned in close and whispered, “What if I want to?”

Blake gulped, and said, “That would be okay.”

Yang smiled. She sat back up and said, “I’m afraid all of my best moves are with my right hand. But that’s okay. It’ll be fun teaching them to lefty. Although….”

“Uh…although what?” Blake asked.

Yang held up her artificial hand. “Maybe we can get some…special attachments made for this. What do you think?”

In spite of herself, Blake laughed out loud. She playfully slapped Yang in the leg.

“That’s a no, huh?” Yang said. She put her hands on either side of Blake. She leaned forward until she was hovering just above Blake’s lips and sensually whispered, “Guess we’ll just have to do things the old-fashioned way then.”

Yang lowered herself ever so slowly, drawing out the anticipation as long as she could until her lips met Blake’s. The kiss started slowly, but it quickly became more passionate and more needy.

Just then, a scroll dutifully informed its owner that they had received a new message by emitting a sharp, electronic ding. Blake jumped in surprise at the unexpected noise and her teeth collided with Yang’s.

Yang shot up. She rubbed her mouth, although her eyes were turned up with amusement. She asked, “Who’s messaging you this early in the morning?”

“Me?” Blake asked. “My scroll’s on silent. That’s got to be yours.”

“It can’t be mine,” Yang said. “It got busted.”

The mysterious ding sounded again. Both Yang and Blake’s heads turned. The sound had come from the other side of the room where Yang’s jacket was folded up neatly on a chair.

Yang and Blake looked at each other. Without a word they both got out of bed and approached the chair. There was a blinking light shining through the fabric of Yang’s jacket pocket. Yang reached in and pulled out a scroll that was colored pink, white, and brown.

The scroll definitely wasn’t Yang’s, but based on the color-scheme, she had a good idea whose it was.

“Is that…Neo’s?” Blake asked, voicing what Yang was thinking.

“I guess,” Yang said.

“Why would she leave her scroll in your pocket?” Blake asked.

“I don’t know,” Yang said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Yang turned the scroll over so she could see the screen. On it was a notification that said, _2 new messages from Neopolitan_.

Yang opened the scroll. The messages popped up on the screen.

_Are you awake yet, Blondie?_

_Come on, I didn’t stab you that  
many times._

Yang’s eyes narrowed. She started tapping at the scroll’s onscreen keyboard.

_What do u want?_

It was only a second until a reply popped up.

_There you are, Sunshine! How’s  
the back?_

Yang actually growled out loud.

“Yang…” Blake said.

“I know,” Yang said. She took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm. She typed in a reply.

_Tell me what u want or im  
             throwing this scroll in the trash_

_How rude. I bought that scroll_  
_as a gift for you! When I saw_  
_you and your friends sticking_  
_your noses in the White Fang’s_  
_business, I knew we needed to_  
_talk. And I’m much more elegant_  
_in the written form you see._

_If u wanted to talk whyd you  
             attack me?_

_Self-defense. You attacked me  
first, Hot-stuff. =P_

“Why that little…” Yang muttered.

Blake asked, “Is she lying?”

Yang signed. “No.”

_Whatever tel me what u want_

_The same thing you want. I’m_  
_here to bring down the White_  
_Fang. And unlike you, I know_  
_what they’re up too~!_

_Why shld I believe u? Ur working  
             for cinder_

_I am NOT working for that bitch!  
Not anymore._

_Why not?_

There was a noticeable pause before Neo’s reply came.

_If Cinder didn’t want to be my_  
_enemy, then she shouldn’t have_  
_killed Roman._

Yang scowled. She said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think she’s telling the truth.”

“I guess everyone has someone they care about,” Blake said. “Even people like Neo.”

_What do u want form us?_

_You’re going to take down the  
White Fang for me._

_U cant handle the wf urself? I  
             thought u were tough_

_I know you can’t see it, but I’m  
rolling my eyes at you. -_-_

_Something more important has  
come up and I have to skip town._

_Tell me where ur going and ill  
             come help u out_

_Please stop. You’re just_  
_embarrassing yourself. Do you_  
_want to know what the White_  
_Fang are up to or not?_

_Fine tell me_

_They came here on an errand for_  
_Cinder. If you want to find them,_  
_all you have to do is find what_  
_they’re looking for._

“They’re still working for her,” Blake said with dismay. “Can’t Adam see what this is going to lead to? Cinder will destroy the White Fang once she’s done using them!”

“Maybe he doesn’t care so long as a lot of humans get hurt,” Yang said.

_What r they looking for?_

_Cinder isn’t going to be content_  
_until she has the powers of all_  
_four seasons. So she sent the_  
_White Fang here to capture the_  
_Winter Maiden before she_  
_awakens._

“The Winter Maiden?” Blake asked, confused.

“It’s…complicated,” Yang said. “Dad explained a little bit of it to me. Bottom line, we don’t want Cinder to get what she wants.”

_Who is the wm?_

_Really? You must be as dumb as_  
_Ozpin and his silly little_  
_brotherhood. If she was_  
_supposed to be kept secret, they_  
_shouldn’t have named her_  
_Winter. You’d better hurry. The_  
_White Fang are going to make_  
_their move today. Ta-ta,_  
_Blondie. Try not to lose another_  
_arm._

“Weiss’s sister!?” Yang exclaimed.

“Hurry and get dressed!” Blake said. “We’ve got to tell Weiss and Ruby!”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

One of the Schnee Dust Company’s many bullheads tore through the skies of Atlas. Team RWBY was riding in its cargo bay. After Blake and Yang had explained what was happening to Weiss and Ruby, Weiss had immediately tried to call Winter on her scroll. When Winter hadn’t answered, Weiss had contacted the local head of her family company’s air fleet. She didn’t technically have the authority to commandeer the use of a bullhead, but some bending of the truth, some shouting, and some out-and-out threats had solved that issue. Now all they needed was a destination. Unfortunately, no one Weiss could get in touch with seemed to know where Winter was.

Weiss was frantically pacing the length of the cargo bay. She was trying yet again to reach Winter on her scroll without success.

Yang was uncharacteristically quiet, and Ruby had taken notice. She asked, “Are you alright, Yang? Last night….”

“I’m okay, Rubes,” Yang said.

Ruby didn’t look convinced. She asked, “Are you sure.”

“Yeah. I…” Yang sighed. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through lately.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Ruby said. “I just want to make sure you’re going to be alright. You know I’m here for you if you ever need anything, right?”

“I know. You’re the most awesome little sister anyone could ask for,” Yang said. She pulled Ruby into a hug. She’d never really appreciated how lucky she was to have so many people that cared about her. It was a wonderful thing.

Weiss closed her scroll in exasperation. She said, “Winter still isn’t answering.”

“She’ll be alright, Weiss,” Ruby said.

“You don’t know that!” Weiss exclaimed. “I don’t understand why this is happening! The Four Maidens are just a fairytale!

“No, they’re not,” Ruby said somberly. “I’ve seen what Cinder can do.”

“But Winter isn’t a Maiden!” Weiss insisted.

Yang said, “It doesn’t matter if she is or not. The White Fang are still coming for her.”

Just then, Weiss’s scroll rang. She answered it in a heartbeat. “Winter! Where are you!? Why are…? You have to get…!”

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting came from the scroll’s speaker, loud enough for Yang, Blake, and Ruby to hear them. Weiss’s face went pale.

“Winter? Winter!” Weiss shouted. She yelled up to the pilot. “Take us to the Schwerhwald Forest outside of the city! Hurry!”

Everyone grabbed on to something as the bullhead banked hard into a turn. Weiss lifted her scroll back to her ear. “Winter?! Are you…?”

Weiss lowered her scroll. The line was dead.

Ruby asked, “What’s happening?! Why is Winter in the woods?”

“She was on a remote training exercise today,” Weiss said. “That’s why she wasn’t answering. The local CCTT network doesn’t cover that area very well.”

Blake said, “It’ll be a lot easier to take her when she’s so isolated. That must be why the White Fang attacked today.”

“Don’t you think I know that!?” Weiss snapped.

“Weiss…” Ruby said. She put her arms around Weiss. “She’ll be alright.”

“Stop saying that! You don’t…you…” Weiss stammered. She was trying very hard to salvage what was left of her composure, but it was a losing battle. She finally relented and buried her face in Ruby’s shoulder.

There was an uneasiness in Yang’s gut. She knew in her heart that something big was about to go down, and the truth was, she was afraid. Yesterday she would’ve denied it, but she’d seen what the consequences of lying to herself were. She couldn’t afford to do that anymore.

Blake said quietly to Yang, “Adam’s going to be there, you know. We’re going to have to fight him again.”

“I know,” Yang said. Even though it shouldn’t have been possible, her prosthetic arm itched at the mention of Adam’s name.

Blake seemed to sense Yang’s anxiety. She took Yang’s hand and their fingers intertwined.

Yang couldn’t help but smile. She lifted Blake’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “No matter what happens,” she said. “You and me. Together.”

“Together,” Blake said.

The flight to Schwerhwald Forest was a short one, but every second of it felt like it dragged on forever.

When the bullhead had finally reached the forest, it descended until it was flying just over the treetops. Weiss hit the button to open the cargo bay doors. A bone-chillingly cold wind rush inside. Pine trees, thrusting up from the ground like spears, whizzed by outside.

Everyone scanned the forest below, hoping to find some sign of Winter.

“There!” Ruby said. She pointed at what looked like people on the ground.

“That must be them!” Weiss said. She stepped out of the bullhead without a moment’s hesitation.

“Wait Weiss!” Ruby said. But it was already too late. “Everyone follow her!”

Ruby, Blake, and Yang jumped into thin air. Weiss was already bounding from glyph to glyph on her way to the ground. Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose, pointed the barrel down, and fired repeatedly to slow herself down. Blake waited until she was past the level of the tree tops. Then she used a clone to push herself to the nearest trunk and slid down it.

Yang simply let herself fall. She crashed into the ground like an avalanche, landing on her knees and one hand, sending up a plume of snow. Her semblance happily ate up the energy from the impact.

When the snow had settled, Yang stood and brushed herself off like it was no big deal.

The people that Ruby had spotted from the air turned out to be two unconscious White Fang members. There were footprint and broken foliage everywhere around them. It looked like it had been quite a battle.

“Winter must be close by!” Weiss said frantically. She started walking in a random direction. “We’ve got to—!”

“Weiss, don’t run off ahead of us!” Ruby scolded. “We need to stick together!”

Weiss took in a deep breath. She let it out and said, “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“Don’t worry. We all want to save Winter,” Ruby said.

“What’s our course of action, then?” Weiss asked.

Blake said. “I can hear fighting.” She pointed. “It’s coming from that direction.”

“Let’s go then!” Ruby said.

Everyone followed Blake, weapons at the ready. They ran across dozens of more bodies littering the forest. Some were White Fang. Some were Atlesian soldiers. There was even the wreckage from several mechanical Atlesian Knights scattered about. It was hard to tell who was knocked out and who was dead.

It wasn’t long before  everyone could hear the clash of swords coming from up ahead. A woman’s voice shouted, “I will not lose to you!”

“That’s Winter!” Weiss said. “Hurry!”

A man’s voice said, “You already lost the moment she took an interest in you. I’m going to enjoy watching what she does to you, Schnee.”

A chill went down Yang’s spine. She said, “Adam’s here too.”

Blake said, “Everyone remember what I told you about his semblance!”

Team RWBY burst into an open clearing. Winter and Adam were there, staring each other down with their swords drawn. Winter was dressed in cold weather gear issued by the Atlesian military. Adam on the other hand was wearing the same light trench coat and silk shirt he had been the last time Yang had seen him. The tails of his coat were blowing in the freezing wind, but Adam didn’t give any sign that the weather was affecting him at all.

Yang’s gut churned as she looked on the face of the man who had so irrevocably changed her life. He was completely unreadable behind his grimm mask, and that was probably the point. Yang swallowed her fear. This time would not turn out like the last time. She knew she had limits now, and she knew she had the help and support of her teammates to overcome them.

Both of Winter’s sabers were in her hands. She lashed out at Adam with blinding speed, but he effortlessly parried each attack. Then his sword slipped past hers and slashed her from her left shoulder to her right hip.

Winter’s face contorted into a defiant sneer, but she stumbled back and fell to a knee. Blood stained her white coat and splattered onto the ground.

“Humph. Disappointing,” Adam said. “I was expecting more from you. She was right. You really don’t know what you are.”

Adam lifted his sword to deliver the final blow.

Weiss let out a horrified wail. A huge glyph blazed to life in the air above her. It glowed so brightly that it was painful to look at. A wind rushed toward it, creating a maelstrom in the clearing that kicked up the snow and shook the trees.

The spectacle drew Adam’s attention away from Winter. “Interesting,” he said.

A gigantic, glowing, white hand, wielding an equally large and luminescent sword, shot out from the glyph and lashed out at Adam with speed that belied its size.

Adam raised his sword to block as the gargantuan blade came crashing down on him. The strength of the blow forced his feet to dig into the ground, but he managed to keep himself from being crushed like a bug.

Yang’s mouth hung open. “I didn’t know Weiss could do that,” she said.

Ruby said, “I’m going to go get Winter.” She zipped off using her semblance.

The giant arm let up against Adam only to sweep the ground with its sword. Adam deftly jumped out of the way.

A second giant hand sprung forth, joining the first. It clutched the edge of the glyph and what looked like a colossal armored knight pulled itself through. In landed on the ground with a shuddering crash.

Adam stood there calmly. He sheathed his sword and crouched into a ready stance.

The knight charged Adam and lunged into an attack. Adam drew his sword, and the clashing of the two blades echoed loudly throughout the clearing.

Ruby reappeared with Winter in her arms and laid her on the ground.

Winter said with a strained voice, “I see Weiss has been practicing her summoning. That is good.”

Ruby asked, “Are you alright?”

“I will live, for the moment,” Winter said. She made an effort to stand up. A hiss of pain escaped her lips, but she managed to get to her feet.

“You should stay down,” Ruby said. “You’re in no condition to keep fighting.”

Winter looked insulted, but she said, “Perhaps you’re right.”

“Weiss can you take your sister to…?” Ruby trailed off. It was obvious that Weiss couldn’t respond at the moment. Her eyes were locked open in absolute concentration. The power of her aura was rolling off of her in waves. Controlling her knight was taking everything she had.

Winter said, “Give me your scroll. Mine was damaged. I will get out of sight and try to call for reinforcements.”

Ruby grabbed her scroll out of her pocket and handed it to Winter. “Here!” she said.

“Thank you,” Winter said. She took Ruby’s scroll and slowly limped away to the edge of the clearing as best she could manage.

Blake said, “There’s no way reinforcements will get here in time.”

“I know,” Ruby said, “It’s just going to be us three and Weiss’s giant knight for now.”

Yang looked at Adam. He was fighting off Weiss’s knight with unnerving effectiveness. It was clear that the massive construct was nothing more than a speed bump for him. It was intimidating to say the least, but Yang knew the time to be afraid had passed. It was time for Team RWBY to make a stand.

Yang activated her gauntlets and smashed her fists together. “Let’s do this,” she said.

“Right!” Ruby shouted. “Pearl Jamming!”

Yang, Ruby, and Blake took off in all different directions. Yang came around to Adam’s right flank. Blake went to his left. And Ruby used her speed to come around from behind.

“You ready for round two!?” Yang shouted at Adam to get his attention. She faked a punch in his direction. It distracted him just enough that the next thunderous blow from the knight’s sword almost squashed him flat. The shockwave from the near-impact set him off balance. Yang tapped into the strength the fall from the bullhead had given her. She unleashed a mighty punch at Adam and fired her gauntlet for good measure. Adam staggered back from the blow but only a little. Yang had never felt an aura as powerful as his.

Ruby and Blake pounced on the opportunity to strike. The two of them plus Yang and the knight all ganged up on Adam. Whoever had Adam’s attention would go on the defensive while everyone else tried to get a hit in. Adam took a fair number of blows, but he blocked even more. His skill was almost unbelievable.

Adam sidestepped another attack from the knight and slipped his sword back into its sheath. Yang went in for a hit. Unfortunately, Adam saw her coming. He squeezed the trigger on his sheath. His sword shot out like a rocket, and the pommel collided with Yang’s head.

The impact sent Yang flailing backward to the ground. Adam’s sword bounced off of her and ended up back in its master’s hand just in time for him to block a strike from Crescent Rose.

“Ladybug!” Ruby shouted.

Yang got to her feet. A grin crossed her face as she felt the rush of her semblance. Adam was no Neo; he hit hard. Yang tempered her excitement. Adam was too dangerous for her to charge in blindly. Yang knew she had to play it smart this time. If she did everything right, her reward would be hitting Adam really hard somewhere that it would hurt.

Adam was busy fighting off Blake and Ruby. They were both using their semblances to rapidly switch up the angles of their attacks. It barely seemed to phase Adam at all. Within seconds, he kicked Blake away and put Ruby on the defensive.

The knight raised its sword high above Adam. Ruby jumped away as it came crashing down. Adam blocked and once again found himself pinned by the knight’s sheer weight.

“Enough,” Adam said. He managed to shift his blade so that the knight’s sword went sliding off of it and landed in the ground. In a heartbeat, Adam’s sword was back in its sheath and his hand was hovering over the hilt.

The knight readied its sword again, but Adam drew his own blade inhumanly fast before it could strike. A wave of energy shot off of Adam’s sword as he unleashed his semblance. It cleaved the knight clean in half. The two halves shimmered brightly and then burst into a brilliant cascade of light that quickly faded.

Weiss yelped in surprise as a backlash of energy from her destroyed knight knocked her flat.

“Weiss!” Ruby shouted. She ran for her partner. Over her shoulder she shouted, “Black Dragon!”

Yang leapt into the air, using Ember Celica to propel herself even higher. Blake summoned a clone and sent it charging at Adam as a distraction. At least, that’s what Adam had expected. His attention was completely focused on Yang as she plummeted toward him. Unfortunately for Adam, the Blake who had charged at him was quite real. Gamble Shroud and its sharpened sheath clashed against his aura as Blake slashed at him repeatedly.

Blake jumped away just as Yang came crashing down. Yang felt her fist connect, to her immense satisfaction. Adam grunted as he was forced to his knees. The impact sent dirt and snow flying into the air and left behind a small crater.

Yang cocked back her fist to punch again, but Adam’s sword came swinging up at her head. She raised her arms to block. The edge of Adam’s sword slid upward across Yang’s gauntlets with a loud scraping sound.

Yang leapt back out of Adam’s immediate reach. She knew better than to fight him one-on-one. Blake ran up to join her as Adam got to his feet.

Behind Blake and Yang, Ruby was helping Weiss to her feet.

“I’m okay,” Weiss said. She and Ruby joined Yang and Blake. All of Team RWBY stood together, shoulder-to-shoulder, facing Adam down.

Adam said, “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again, my love. I’m glad you came back.”

“Don’t call me that!” Blake said. “I stopped being your love a long time ago.”

Yang felt a swell of pride in her chest at how defiant Blake sounded. It got even bigger when Adam’s mouth turned down into an almost imperceptible frown. It was the closest she’d seen his stoic demeanor come to breaking.

Adam said, “It’s good that you brought your friends. I’m going to kill them one at a time.” He pointed at Yang. “I think I’ll start with her.”

“Hey! No one threatens my sister and gets away with it!” Ruby shouted. Then, she asked softly, “You good to go, Weiss?”

“Yes,” Weiss said. “Let’s kick his butt.”

A confident grin crossed Ruby’s face. She shouted, “Pollination!”

Weiss’s time dilation glyph appeared beneath where Team RWBY stood. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all scattered at impossible speeds and converged on Adam from every direction simultaneously. When Ruby had come up with the maneuver, she’d told everyone to pretend they were a swarm of angry bees. The description was apt. Team RWBY struck at Adam furiously from every conceivable angle faster than he could hope to block.

Adam was doing his best to compensate for the withering assault he was under, but there was little he could do. He stopped trying to defend himself, despite all the blows raining down upon him, and sheathed his sword.

Yang was a little unnerved at how Adam was just sitting there, taking the hits. But that didn’t stop her from attacking him. She hammered blow after blow into him, but his unyielding aura held strong.

Without warning, Adam drew his blade lightning fast and with the same motion swung it in a circle. Somehow, he managed to hit all four of his targets in a single strike. Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all went tumbling across the ground.

When Yang finally came to a stop, she struggled to her feet. Even with her semblance, it was getting harder to get back up. She’d never really thought about what downsides Weiss’s otherwise awesome glyph might have, but getting hit while moving at superhuman speed really, really hurt.

Much to Yang’s chagrin, the effects of Weiss’s glyph had run out. Ruby, who’d landed close to Yang, asked, “Did you get a boost off of that?”

“Sure did,” Yang said.

“Alright then,” Ruby said. “Enabler!”

Yang held out her hand, and Ruby jumped onto it. Yang spun around and used her semblance-enhanced strength to toss Ruby at Adam as hard as she could.

Ruby fired a shot from her scythe midair and set herself spinning. She flew at Adam with Crescent Rose’s blade out, whirling around and around like a drill.

Adam brought his sword up and blocked Ruby. Crescent Rose ground against Adam’s guard but to no avail.

When Ruby’s momentum died out, she dropped to the ground. Adam was ready and went on the offensive. It was all poor Ruby could do to stave off his attacks.

Suddenly, Weiss came sliding in on a glyph. She lunged at Adam only for him to parry her. Undaunted, Weiss took up a position beside Ruby. The both of them fought in unison, desperately trying to find an opening in Adam’s defenses.

“Bumblebee!” Ruby shouted.

Yang heard Gambol Shroud fire. Without looking, she grabbed the blade out of the air as it came flying toward her. She took a running start to build up some momentum while Blake held on tight to the long ribbon attached to the sword’s hilt. Blake spun Yang around and around until she was airborne.

Yang continued to pick up speed. Blake shifted her position and sent Yang flying directly for Adam. Yang was ready to plant her fist in the back of Adam’s head, but just as she closed in, he shook off Ruby and Weiss’s combined assault and turned to counter Yang.

Thinking quickly, Yang fired a blast from her Gauntlet into the ground. The shot propelled her upward, and she sailed clear over Adam’s head. Adam was caught off balance when the attack he was expecting didn’t come. Weiss thrust Myrtenaster, which was charged with red Dust, into his back. The red Dust exploded and Adam stumbled to one knee.

Yang swung around on Blake’s ribbon again, and this time, her fist hit Adam squarely in his chest. Yang squeezed off a shot from Ember Celica and Adam was flung backward.

Adam plunged his sword into the ground to stop himself. He skidded along the ground while his sword carved a long gouge into it, until he finally came to a halt.

Yang wasn’t done with Adam yet. His sword was still stuck in the ground; now was the perfect time to attack. She signaled Blake to spin her around one more time.

Yang fired off a few shots to build her speed back up. Her fist was primed as the distance between her and Adam rapidly dwindled away.

Yang aimed for Adam’s head, but at the last second, Adam rolled to the side and pulled his sword free from the ground. His semblance flared to life, and he cut through Gambol Shroud’s ribbon like it was made of tissue paper.

Yang suddenly found herself flying wildly through the air. She hit the ground hard and tumbled helplessly across it, hitting all manner of rocks and tree roots along the way. The multitude of small impacts chipped away at her aura without giving her anything back in return. Yang only came to a stop when her back slammed into a thick tree trunk and she landed flat on her face.

Yang groaned and slowly got to her hands and knees. Her head was spinning. The lingering traces of the wound Neo had given her throbbed painfully, sending spasms shooting up and down her back.

Yang told herself that she had to get up and fight. Her teammates were counting on her. But her whole body felt heavy.

Yang managed to raise her head. She could see Ruby frantically fighting off Adam a good twenty feet away. Even with Ruby’s speed, Adam was too good for her to face alone. He got inside her guard and started mercilessly slashing at her over and over again, rapidly wearing away her aura to nothing.

“Ruby…” Yang called out feebly. She tried to get to her feet, but she didn’t quite make it.

A white glyph appeared underneath Ruby and dragged her out of Adam’s reach. Adam turned his attention to Weiss, who was standing defiantly a few feet away. He charged at her. She threw up a glyph between herself and Adam, but he neatly sliced it in half with a mighty swing of his sword. The glyph shimmered briefly and then faded out of existence.

With a flourish, Adam re-sheathed his sword. Weiss thrust at him, but he grabbed her sword-arm and lifted her helplessly into the air. He head butted her with his horns repeatedly and then cast her aside like a ragdoll.

“No,” Yang said. She finally managed to get to her feet. That’s when she saw Adam turn his attention to Blake.

Yang realized with horror that she still had Gambol Shroud in her hand.

Adam lifted his sword high. Yang mustered up as much focus as she could and threw Blake’s sword to her. “Blake!” she shouted as loud as she could manage.

Blake caught her sword just in time. She crossed Gambol Shroud and its sheath and blocked Adam’s blade as it plunged for her head.

Sparks flew as Adam’s and Blake’s swords locked. “Blake,” Adam said. “I want you to know that this is all your fault.”

“First it was the humans’ fault! Now it’s my fault!” Blake shouted. “You really can’t accept responsibility for what you’ve become, can you? I’ve been blaming myself all this time, but I was wrong. Everything that’s happened has been your doing!”

Adam sneered. “I’m going to make you watch your friends die one at a time. Then you can tell me again who’s responsible.”

Adam broke the deadlock and brought his sword back to its sheath. Blake split from a clone and jumped backward, but she didn’t jump far enough. Adam’s next strike went straight through her clone and the tip of his sword slashed across her neck.

Blake cried out in alarm and stumbled backward onto the ground. Her hand flew up to her neck. Her aura had saved her, but only just. There was a tiny trickle of blood were Adam’s sword and managed to nick her.

Adam slowly advanced on Blake. His sword was sheathed and he had dropped his fighting stance. He clearly believed the battle was over.

“I’m sorry, my love,” Adam said. “It looks like I’m going to kill you first.” His hand went to the hilt of his sword.

“ADAM! GET AWAY FROM HER!” Yang’s voice boomed from across the field. Fire exploded from her. Her hair started to glow and her eyes turned red as her semblance kicked in at full power.

“No, Yang! Don’t do it!” Blake shouted.

The power of Yang’s semblance had dispelled her pain and weariness. She knew exactly what she had to do. She pushed as hard as she could with her legs and fired Ember Celica directly behind her. She when flying toward Adam at speeds that even Ruby would be impressed with.

Yang was madder than she’d ever been, but at the same time, she was completely calm. She saw everything with perfect clarity as she whizzed through the air. Blake was shouting with tears streaming from her eyes. Her hand was extended in a vain attempt to stop Yang. Adam had fallen back into a defense stance. His hand was poised to draw his sword. He was ready for Yang. But she was ready for him too.

Adam drew his sword to strike. It sliced through the air with an audible hiss. Yang brought her right arm up. The sword struck Yang on her mechanical elbow. The force behind the blow carried Adam’s sword upward. It chewed through the metal and carbon of Yang's forearm, all the while slowing down as it met resistance. When it hit the bottom edge of Ember Celica, it made it in about an inch, and then it could go no farther. Adam’s sword came to an abrupt halt, firmly lodged in Yang’s artificial arm.

Adam jerked in surprise. He tried to free his sword, but it was well and truly stuck. Yang, her nose just inches from his, gave him an absolutely sinister smile. Adam’s mouth was agape.

Yang leapt up and brought all of her weight to bear on Adam’s sword. It was a simple matter of physics now. As Yang fell to the ground, either Adam’s grip would break or his sword would.

Adam never let go. A crisp and beautiful note of metal snapping resonated through the air as Adam’s sword broke at the base.

Yang got to her feet. Her right arm hung broken and useless at her side with the blade of Adam’s sword still lodged in it. But her eyes burned with righteous power and her expression bespoke the evil things she intended to visit upon Adam.

Adam stepped back fearfully. He was at a complete loss as to what to do. Yang lashed out with her foot and kicked the broken sword hilt out of Adam’s unprepared hand. She spun around and used the momentum to punch Adam as hard as she could with her left hand. She fired off a shot from her gauntlet for good measure.

Adam when flying backward. He collided with the ground and rolled over a few times before he came to a stop. Yang wonder if he would stay down, but it seemed he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

Adam got to his feet. Before he could do anything, however, a glowing white bullet struck him and exploded into a chunk of ice. Yang turned her head and saw Ruby, with her scythe planted in the ground in a firing position. In front of her, Weiss, who was just barely managing to stay upright, was projecting a glyph in front of Crescent Rose’s barrel.

“Ice Flowers,” Ruby said. She sounded exhausted, but her voice still held an edge of defiance.

Ruby fired several more rounds at Adam until he was completely covered in a thick layer of ice. Only his head remained exposed.

Yang grabbed her broken cybernetic arm right where it connected to her body. She gave it a twist and pulled it free. Arcs of electricity shot out from the arm’s prongs as they were pulled from their ports.

Yang looked at the prosthetic in her hand for a moment before casting it aside. She marched menacingly up to Adam and with a roar, punched him in the head.

Even after all the hits he had taken, Adam’s aura still held fast. Yang punched him over and over and over again. She fired Ember Celica until its ammunition ran dry. Yang understood now. Adam was strong. He was stronger than her. Maybe he was even stronger than she could ever become. But he’d still lost. Even the best warrior in the world couldn’t win every battle.

Yang’s knuckles began to ache from the repeated impacts, but she didn’t stop. She felt Adam’s aura finally begin to give. Yang pulled back for one last punch and slammed her fist into Adam’s face. His aura broke and his mask shattered underneath Yang’s fist.

Yang pulled her hand back. The shattered mask fell from Adam’s face, and Yang saw his eyes for the first time. They were wide with fear. Yang almost couldn’t believe it, but Adam was afraid, desperately so. Underneath the façade, underneath the grimm mask, he was just a person. And he could break like any other.

Adam was completely at Yang’s mercy now. She looked around. Blake was standing nearby, watching solemnly. Ruby and Weiss were sitting on the ground, leaning against each other for mutual support. They looked on with somber expressions. Everyone was going to let Yang do whatever she wanted, even if they didn’t approve.

Yang’s expression grew hard. She’d beaten Adam, broken him, and still she wasn’t satisfied. She raised her fist. Adam sucked in a breath. The next punch would kill him, and he knew it. Yang’s course of action should’ve been clear, but she found herself conflicted. Would it be more cruel to kill Adam or to let him live with his shame and defeat? Yang didn’t know what would slake her lust for vengeance.

But maybe that was the problem. Nothing would satisfy her need for revenge. It was like a drug. The more you got, the more you wanted. One had to only look at the White Fang to see that.

Yang lowered her fist. She had to draw the line somewhere. This would have to be enough.

However, just because Yang wasn’t going to kill Adam, it didn’t mean she had to forgive him.

Yang waited just long enough for Adam to start to relax. Then her hand shot out and she grabbed him by the hair. She pulled hard enough on his head to strain his spine. She wanted him to know that she could rip his head clean off if she was so inclined.

Adam gurgled in pain, but Yang didn’t let up. She leaned in close, and with enough menace in her voice to make even Cinder afraid, she whispered, “If you ever threaten Blake, my friends, my family, or anyone else ever again, we’ll be coming back for you. And next time I’ll make sure you die by pieces. I think I’ll start with your arm. Do you understand?”

Adam didn’t answer. Yang pulled even harder and said, “Do. You. Understand?”

“I…I understand!” Adam choked out.

“Good,” Yang said. She pulled back, shifted her grip, and slammed Adams’ face into the crown of her head with concussive force.

Adam was unconscious in a heartbeat. His head whipped back, spraying blood from his broken nose, and then rolled limply onto its side.

Yang took a step back. Her hair’s glow faded and her eyes shifted back to their lilac color. She was suddenly very tired. She stumbled to the ground, breathing heavily. It was finally over.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The reinforcements Winter had called for eventually came, and the Atlesian military had showed up in force. Soldiers were busy extracting Adam from his icy prison so they could move him to a more permanent one. Medics were attending to Winter and the many other casualties that had happened before Team RWBY had showed up.

Weiss was hovering over her sister, much to the annoyance of the medics who were attending to her. Blake was advising some of the soldiers about Adam’s semblance and how they needed to take the utmost caution in containing him. And Ruby had cornered some poor officer and was gesturing wildly as she enthusiastically described every last moment of Team RWBY’s fight with Adam.

Yang watched the scene quietly. Her whole body ached, but it was a good kind of ache, like the one she got at the end of a really satisfying workout. She felt light and free like she hadn’t in a very long time.

Blake finally finished up with the soldiers and made her way to Yang. As she approached, Yang smiled at her and said, “I’m proud of you, Blakey.”

“Me?” Blake asked.

“Yeah! All that stuff you said to Adam? It gave me chills!” Yang said. “I’m glad you finally realized it.”

“I guess you’re rubbing off on me,” Blake said.

“Well, I’m hoping to do a lot more rubbing off on you in the future.” Yang winked suggestively.

Blake tried to suppress a laugh, but she couldn’t. She said, “You’re incorrigible.”

“You know you love it,” Yang said.

“I guess I must if I’m dating you,” Blake said. Then she added, “I’m…sorry about your arm. Again.”

Yang looked at her stump. The sight of it didn’t bother her at all. She said, “It’s alright.”

“It is?” Blake asked, surprised.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Yang said. “I want my robo-arm back. But it’s not what makes me me, you know?”

Blake beamed. “I’m proud of you too then.”

Weiss walked up, holding Yang’s mangled prosthetic in her hand. She said, “Winter is going to be okay. Thank you both so much. Ruby too.”

“No problem. We’re teammates after all,” Yang said. “Besides, I figure it’s the least I can do after all you did for me.”

Weiss held up Yang’s artificial arm. “I imagine you’re expecting me to pay to have this repaired.”

“No way,” Yang said. “I expect your dad to pay. I think saving his daughter’s life is worth at least that much.”

A smile slowly crept onto Weiss’s face. “I like the way you think.”

Ruby suddenly zoomed in, sending rose petal scattering everywhere. “Yang! That was so cool! You were like rawr and then blam and then nope and then pow! It was awesome!”

“I guess I was pretty awesome,” Yang said, puffing her chest out. “But so were all of you.”

Blake said, “None of us could have done it alone.”

“Ah yeah!” Ruby cheered. “We are now officially the youngest huntresses to singlehandedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the people of Remnant!”

“I think it’s a little early to declare the White Fang defeated,” Weiss said.

“Ah come on, Weiss,” Ruby whined. “After a fight with their leader like that?”

Suddenly Yang’s eyes lit up. She said in a singsong voice, “You know girls, I’ll say this about the fight….”

Ruby said, “Oh no.”

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and said, “Please don’t.”

Yang waggled her stump and said, “It was really…disarming! Eh? Anybody?”

A chorus of groans filled the air. Ruby buried her face in her hands and Weiss shook her head.

Yang looked at Blake. Blake was trying very, very hard not to smile, but it was too late. Yang already knew that she’d thought it was funny, at least a little. Blake said, “I can’t believe I love you sometimes.”

Yang grinned. She grabbed Blake and pulled her into a kiss. Blake resisted at first—there were hundreds of people around them after all—but she soon relented and let herself melt into Yang.

Yang broke the kiss. She looked into Blake’s eyes and said, “I love you too, girlfriend. Now what do you say tonight you and me go out on a first date?”

“That would be wonderful,” Blake said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this story. And a special thank you to everyone who left a comment. (Yes, everyone.) You guys made my first effort in the world of fan fiction a fun and interesting one. It’s been quite a ride, and I’m glad I took it.
> 
> I’m looking forward to and dreading the actual resolution to Yang’s plot in Volume 4. If they handle it right and give it a proper payoff, it’s going to be epic. If they don’t…. Well, let’s not think about that right now.
> 
> My pick of Winter as the Winter Maiden may seem a little too obvious, but let’s consider that the current Fall Maiden is one Cinder Fall. RWBY is many things, but subtle is not one of them.
> 
> I’m a big fan of Neo being actually mute. I’m also a big fan of Neo been just a sassy as she looks. I think Neo as I wrote her in this chapter needs to be about 25% more sassy, but I guess I’ll just have to live with that. I‘d actually like to see Neo working against Cinder in Volume 4 for the reasons I gave in the chapter. That could lead to some hilariously awkward team-ups.
> 
> Speaking of Neo, I wasn’t able to format Yang and Neo’s text message conversation the way I wanted to. Hopefully it’s still clear who was saying what. Yang’s rather abbreviated style of texting really gave my spellchecker fits. Then again, it gets mad every time I capitalize Winter’s name.
> 
> It was fun coming up with new team attacks for the final battle. What did you guys think of them? And while I’m on the topic, I use a tumlr blog called rwbyships as my “official” source for RWBY ship names. It lists Ruby/Blake/Yang as Pearl Jamming, which is what I used for their team attack name, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how they came up with that name. Do any of you know?
> 
> Well that’s all from me for now. I’m going to take some time off and recharge my batteries. But don’t worry, I’ll be back. I’ve got ideas for some one-shots and some longer series. I’ll have to see what piques my interest.
> 
> Thank you all once again. I’ll see you guys in Volume 4!
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.


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